Blue Streak sophomore Brandon Mimes had tied the game at 72-72 on a short jumper in the lane with 17 seconds left, giving Muskingum enough time to set up one last shot. Despite not having a time out, the Muskies got the ball across the time line and into the hands of senior Matt Dansby. He began his drive with five seconds to play, but JCU’s Mike Grogan forced Dansby into a tough shot that went clear over the rim.
Luckily for Muskingum, Ady was waiting on the other side. He gathered the ball and quickly put up a shot in the final second. The ball hit the rim and literally rolled into the basket as the buzzer sounded.
Ady’s basket ended several impressive John Carroll winning streaks. Going by the wayside was John Carroll's school record 14-game winning streak dating back to last year, and its 32 game home winning streak dating back to the 2001-2002 season. the last team to defeat John Carroll at home was 2002 NCAA Division III national champion Otterbein, by an 89-84 score, on February 9, 2002.
Muskingum held a lead for much of the game, thanks to a 13-4 start. John Carroll did not grab its first lead until 7:49 remained in the first half when Pete Moran nailed a jumper to make the score 21-20 in the Blue Streaks favor. Neither team held a lead of more than three points the remainder of the half, which ended in a 33-33 tie.
The Muskies again took charge in the second half, and pushed the lead out to nine points when Zac Ross hit a three-pointer with 5:27 to play that put Muskingum ahead, 60-51.
John Carroll furiously climbed back and grabbed back the lead with 1:37 to play when Drew Salata stripped Dansby and went in for an uncontested lay-up for a 68-67 Blue Streak lead.
The teams traded baskets on the next three possessions, but with Muskingum ahead by one with 34 seconds to play, Mimes was called for an offensive foul. Seconds later, the Muskies went ahead by two as Zach Ross split a pair of free throws to give his squad a 72-70 lead.
JCU quickly answered when Mimes hit a short jumper in the lane to knot the score at 72-72, setting up the dramatic final Muskingum possession.
Muskingum (10-5, 5-3 OAC) was led by a game-high 20 points from Cole Pittis, who tallied 13 of those points in the second half. The hero of the game, Ady, tallied 13 for the Muskies as did Ross and Roy Skidmore. Muskingum, who leads the OAC in field goal percentage, stayed right at its average for the season by shooting 28-57 (.491) from the field for the game, as well as 14-18 (.778) from the free throw line
John Carroll (13-1, 7-1 OAC), which despite the loss remains in sole possession of first place in the conference, received 19 point contributions from both Mimes and Salata. The two JCU centers shot a combined 17-22 (.773) from the field, but the rest of the team as a whole was 12-39 (.308). JCU forced 22 turnovers from Muskingum, but were outrebounded, 38-29, and gave up 11 offensive rebounds – the most important being the last. The minus-11 rebounding margin was John Carroll’s worst deficit of the season in that category.
Newspaper Box Score Muskingum vs John Carroll At DeCarlo Varsity Ctr., Univ. Hts., OH MUSKINGUM 74, JOHN CARROLL 72 MUSKINGUM (10-5, 5-3 OAC) Cole Pittis 7-14 6-8 20; Zach Ross 4-9 3-4 13; Roy Skidmore 5-8 3-4 13; Jeremy Ady 6-13 0-0 13; Graig Turson 1-4 2-2 5; Matt Dansby 2-4 0-0 4; Cliff Sprang 1-2 0-0 2; Jeff Smallwood 1-1 0-0 2; Andy Mix 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-57 14-18 74. JOHN CARROLL (13-1, 7-1 OAC) Andrew Salata 9-12 1-3 19; Brandon Mimes 8-10 3-5 19; Michael Grogan 2-8 1-2 7; Justin Ragor 3-6 0-0 7; Pete Moran 2-5 2-3 6; Peter Koch 2-9 2-2 6; John Curran 1-3 2-2 4; Demetrius Travis 2-3 0-2 4; Chris Day 0-3 0-0 0; Kyle Roggenburk 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-61 11-19 72. Muskingum..................... 33 41 - 74 John Carroll.................. 33 39 - 72 3-point goals-Muskingum 4-18 (Zach Ross 2-6; Graig Turson 1-3; Jeremy Ady 1-4; Roy Skidmore 0-3; Cole Pittis 0-2), John Carroll 3-13 (Michael Grogan 2-6; Justin Ragor 1-3; Pete Moran 0-1; Peter Koch 0-2; Chris Day 0-1). Fouled out--Muskingum-None, John Carroll-None. Rebounds-Muskingum 38 (Matt Dansby 9), John Carroll 29 (Andrew Salata 8). Assists-Muskingum 14 (Jeremy Ady 5), John Carroll 17 (Peter Koch 5). Total fouls-Muskingum 20, John Carroll 19. A-977