The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Blue Streaks’ rally falls short in loss to Baldwin Wallace
Both coaches said it best. It was a typical John Carroll vs. Baldwin Wallace basketball game.
John Carroll tied the game late in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 13 points. The rally fell just short, however, as the Blue Streaks (11-5, 4-5 OAC) fell to rival Baldwin Wallace (10-6, 6-3 OAC), 82-77, at the Lou Higgins Center in Berea.
The Yellow Jackets came out firing in a fast-paced first half as they nailed eight 3-pointers (8-of-16) and shot 52.9 percent from the field.
“We know they ball screen a thousand times and our rotations were sub par in the first half,” John Carroll head coach Pete Moran said. “They got a lot of open looks and if you get open looks, you’re going to knock them down.”
Baldwin Wallace head coach Tom Heil liked what he saw early out of his team.
“We definitely made some shots,” Heil said. “Credit our guys, one thing we did well was share the ball. We have an unselfish group. A group that is pretty good shooting the basketball.”
The Yellow Jackets built a 13-point first half lead and took a 10-point lead into the half. It wasn’t so much a lack of offense from John Carroll, as the Blue Streaks shot 40 percent from the field and 50 percent (5-of10) from 3-point range. It was their struggles on defense, and the fact that they had a hard time closing out on Baldwin Wallace shooters, that led to them trailing by double digits at the break.
The pace slowed in the second half, which benefited the Blue Streaks, as they methodically chipped away at the Yellow Jackets’ lead. John Carroll tightened up on defense. The Blue Streaks got within five points at the 2:50 mark and tied the game at 72-72 with 1:31 left on a pair of free throws from Jimmy Berger.
Baldwin Wallace responded with a 6-2 run and took a 78-74 lead after Zach Cebula drilled a 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining in the contest. It was too much for the Blue Streaks to overcome as the Yellow Jackets closed out the game by making several free throws.
John Carroll outscored Baldwin Wallace, 38-33, in the second half. However, it had a hard time knocking down shots. The Blue Streaks went 4-of-12 from 3 and shot just 34.8 percent from the field in the second half.
“I’m proud of the way our guys fought back,” Moran said. “It felt like there was something on the rim and balls weren’t falling in our favor. Tip our cap to BW and Coach Heil. They made a couple of nice plays at the end and down the stretch ... (Cebula) hit that 3 in the corner. That was the dagger right there.”
The loss puts John Carroll two games behind Baldwin Wallace in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. Jimmy Berger, who led the Blue Streaks with 22 points and seven rebounds, knows there’s a lot of games left to be played.
“That’s the beauty of the OAC. We have plenty of time left,” Berger said. “We’re not too worried, we just have to regroup. We’re on a two-game skid right now, but earlier in the year we were on a three-game skid. It’s nothing new to us, and there’s peaks and valleys in a season.
“We’ll be prepared for the teams coming up and we have to face (Baldwin Wallace) and all these other (OAC) teams again. (We will) get back to work tomorrow and we’ll be ready for the next challenge.”
Jimmy’s brother, Ryan, poured in 16 points and five rebounds for the Blue Streaks. Baldwin Wallace was led by Alex Nahra (Mayfield), who tallied 18 points and eight rebounds.
Up next, John Carroll hosts Muskingum, while Baldwin Wallace travels to Marietta Jan. 25.