UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Mount Union got a game and career-high 21 points from freshman guard Nate Jacubec (Struthers/Struthers) and rallied twice from double digit deficits before falling 74-65 at John Carroll in an Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball matchup.

John Carroll, which got 19 points from Corey Shontz, improves to 13-4 overall and at 8-3 in the OAC is now tied in first place with Capital -- a 55-53 loser at Wilmington.

Mount Union falls for just the third time in 2012 and is now 8-10 overall and 4-7 in the conference.

After five lead changes and two ties in the first half, the Purple Raiders were down 29-19 with three minutes left before finishing the period on a 11-1 run to tie the game at 30 at the break.

John Carroll opened the second half on a 13-4 run to take control of the game and eventually led 55-43 with 13:39 left to play.

Mount Union rallied again over the next seven minutes to get within a point -- 61-60 on a Jacubec three-pointer.

Shontz would hit a free throw and a three-pointer by Michael Hartnett would push the margin back out to five and the Raiders would score just five more points the rest of game.

Aside from Jacubec's heroics, Jimmy Wood (Wintersville/Indian Creek) was the only other Purple Raider in double figures with 13 points.

Mount Union returns home to host Capital Saturday at 3 pm at The MAAC in Alliance.  

Newspaper Box Score

Mount Union vs John Carroll

01/25/12 7:00 pm at DeCarlo Center - University Hts., OH

JOHN CARROLL 74, MOUNT UNION 65

MOUNT UNION (8-10, 4-7 OAC)

Nate Jacubec 8-17 0-0 21; Jimmy Wood 4-12 4-4 13; Stevie Griffin 4-11 0-0 9;Clayton Patton 3-6 0-0 7; Matt Wier 1-1 2-2 4; Matt Piloto 2-2 0-2 4; MattKiger 2-2 0-0 4; T.J. Gillespie 1-1 0-0 3; Jimmy Darnley 0-0 0-0 0; JustenLittle 0-2 0-0 0; Keith Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 6-8 65.

JOHN CARROLL (13-4, 8-3 OAC)

Corey Shontz 7-10 1-2 19; Mark Hester 5-9 1-4 11; Kyle Hubbard 2-4 6-6 10;Ryan Angers 3-4 0-0 7; Patrick Sweeney 3-5 1-3 7; Kenny Janz 2-2 2-2 6;Michael Hartnett 2-6 0-0 6; Joey Meyer 1-5 1-4 4; Kyle Wise 1-2 0-0 3; ConorSweeney 0-2 1-4 1; Regan Sweeney 0-0 0-0 0; David Hendrickson 0-0 0-0 0;Greg Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-50 13-25 74.

Mount Union...................   30   35  -   65

John Carroll..................   30   44  -   74

3-point goals--Mount Union 9-19 (Nate Jacubec 5-8; Stevie Griffin 1-4; T.J.Gillespie 1-1; Jimmy Wood 1-5; Clayton Patton 1-1), John Carroll 9-23 (CoreyShontz 4-6; Michael Hartnett 2-6; Joey Meyer 1-4; Ryan Angers 1-2; Kyle Wise1-2; Conor Sweeney 0-1; Greg Brown 0-1; Mark Hester 0-1). Fouled out--MountUnion-None, John Carroll-None. Rebounds--Mount Union 31 (Clayton Patton 6),John Carroll 30 (Kenny Janz 6; Mark Hester 6). Assists--Mount Union 16(Justen Little 6), John Carroll 13 (Corey Shontz 4). Total fouls--MountUnion 23, John Carroll 8. Technical fouls--Mount Union-None, JohnCarroll-None. A-984