Heidelberg Suffers Road Loss to JCU

The Heidelberg men’s basketball team suffered a 78-55 loss to John Carroll University tonight, Jan. 7, in Ohio Athletic Conference action in the DeCarlo Varsity Center on the campus of John Carroll.
 
Heidelberg (4-8, 1-4 OAC) held a brief two point lead, 11-9, following a Jake Hessey (Crestline, Ohio / Colonel Crawford) try, but the Blue Streaks (8-4, 4-2 OAC) responded with a Corey Shontz lay up and built its lead to 13 points, 26-13, at the 7:18 mark.
 
Heidelberg pulled within single-digits, 29-21, after two Jim Smalley (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Midpark) free throws in the final three minutes before halftime, but that would be as close as the Berg could get as JCU used an 11-2 run to close out the opening half and took a 40-23 lead into the locker room.
 
In the second half John Carroll outscored the Berg by a slim 38-32 margin. Heidelberg got as close as 18 points in the first five minutes, but could not overcome its early deficit.
 
For the game, JCU outshot the Berg 48.0 percent (24-of-50) to 29.4 percent (20-of-68). The battle on the glass was close, with the Blue Streaks holding a slim 44-41 advantage.
 
Hessey led the way for the Berg with 12 points and Smalley added 10. Kyle Tuley (Berea, Ohio / Berea) led the way on the glass with a game-high nine boards.  
 
John Carroll was paced by Matt Crozier’s 14 points and six rebounds.