UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — Eighth-seeded Marietta College gave top-seeded John Carroll University all that it could handle in Wednesday (Feb. 24) night's Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Quarterfinal in inside the DeCarlo Varsity Center, but the host Blue Streak avoided the upset with a 86-75 victory. [Box Score]

The loss ended the Pioneers' season with a record of 10-16. The Blue Streaks, ranked #24 in the latest D3Hoops.com Poll, improved to 20-5 and move on to the OAC Semifinals, which they will host Friday (Feb. 26) night.

John Carroll had no answer for Marietta's sophomore duo of Kevin Knab (Lakewood, Lakewood) and Trevor Halter (Malvern, Malvern), who combined for 46 of the team's 75 points. Knab finished 11-of-12 from the field to finish with a game-best 24 points to go along with a game-high eight rebounds. Halter converted 7-of-12 overall and scored 22 points while adding seven boards before fouling out with five minutes to play in the game.

The Blue Streaks once again received balanced scoring as six players scored double figures on the night. Maurice Haynes paced John Carroll with 14 points, Matt Crozier had 13 points, Rudy Kirbus added 12 points, Tyler Kirsch contributed 11 points and Chris Zajac and Corey Shontz both scored 10 points.

The score remained tight through the first half. A free throw from freshman Jason Humphrey (Naples, Fla., Barron Collier) pulled the Pioneers within three points, 21-18, with 11:30 to play in the period. The Blue Streaks then went on a 15-6 run over the next six minutes to gain a 36-24 advantage. Marietta fought is way back into the game with a 12-3 run over the final 5:42 to enter intermission down three points, 39-36.

Marietta out shot John Carroll 55.0% (12-of-22) to 48% (14-of-29) from the field over the first 20 minutes. Knab converted all four of his field goal attempts to lead Marietta with 10 points, while Halter added nine points at the break.

The Pioneers caught fire out of the locker room and led 54-49 five minutes into the second half. Marietta maintained the advantage until Zajac hit a jumper to give John Carroll back the lead, 59-58, with 9:44 left. The Blue Streaks then took advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line to boost their lead back to double digits, 75-64, with 3:42 to play in the game and then held on for the 11-point victory.

Marietta finished the game 29-of-59 (49%) from the field, hitting 8-of-24 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. John Carroll shot 47% (26-of-55) overall and 38% (6-of-16) from long range. The Blue Steaks outscored the Pioneers 28-9 from the line and out rebounded them 38-35 in the win.