TIFFIN, Ohio—Corey Shontz scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the first half to lead John Carroll University to a 97-57 win over the Heidelberg University men's basketball team tonight in an Ohio Athletic Conference game at Seiberling Gymnasium in Tiffin, Ohio. The loss was the third straight for the Berg.

Heidelberg (6-14, 4-9 OAC) nearly had three Student Princes record a double-double, as sophomore forward Victor Fortkamp (St. Henry) scored 12 points and tallied eight rebounds, junior second-team All-OAC guard Dane Givner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Harvest Prep) added 10 points and seven boards, and junior honorable mention All-OAC forward Nate Davis (Dayton/Stivers) tallied nine markers and a game-high 10 rebounds. Davis also passed for three assists and had three steals.

In addition to Shontz for JCU (15-4, 10-3 OAC), Mark Hester scored 13 points and Conor Sweeney chipped in 11 to lead 14 Blue Streaks who scored. The win keeps the Blue Streaks atop the OAC standings.

Shontz scored the first eight points for the Blue Streaks, but the Berg kept pace over the first two minutes of the game, scoring on three of its first five possessions.

JCU then opened a 13-2 run that spanned more than four minutes, increasing its lead to 21-8 following a lay-up by Hester at the 13:55 mark.

Senior forward Zane Wildermuth (Botkins) broke a 4:40 scoring drought when he made one of two free throws at the 12:10 mark.

The Blue Streaks built an 18-point lead by 7:06 of the first half with a Michael Hartnett three-pointer, increasing the JCU advantage to 36-18.

A Patrick Sweeney lay-up with two seconds left sent the Blue Streaks into the break with a 53-31 lead.

JCU led by no less than 20 points throughout the entire second half, building a lead as large as 68-38 with just under 13 minutes to play. The Blue Streaks first gained a 40-point lead at 94-54 following a lay-up by Jeremiah Townes at the 2:53 mark.

Heidelberg shot just 29.3 (17-of-58) from the field, including 13.3 (two-of-15) from three point range and committed 25 turnovers, but managed to pull down 49 rebounds.

JCU shot at a 44.6 (37-of-83) percent clip while turning the ball over just 11 times.

The Student Princes will look to get back on the winning track Saturday, Feb. 4 when they face Capital University at 4 p.m. in the second game of a men's and women's OAC doubleheader in Bexley, Ohio.