Box Score The John Carroll University men's basketball team knew it had a tough opponent to start the season.
 
Playing in the 14th-annual Radisson/PNC Bank Invitation, John Carroll dropped a 94-88 decision to Alvernia on Saturday afternoon in Scranton, Pa.
 
Sophomore Doug Caputo scored a career-high 21 points. The Youngstown, Ohio native added seven rebounds in the contest.
 
Senior Jake Hollinger notched a double-double in the season-opener scoring 16 points and collecting 12 rebounds. Freshman John Cirillo and sophomore David Linane each added 10 points.
 
John Carroll hung tough with the 2014 NCAA Tournament team keeping the score within five points for the first seven minutes of the game. The Blue Streaks took their first lead of the afternoon on a layup by Hollinger with 13:08 left in the first half.
 
The Crusaders raced out to a 15-point lead with 4:59 remaining in the first half. The Blue Streaks rebounded with a 9-0 run to make it a six-point game at 41-35. Linane sparked the run with a 3-pointer and a jumper. Ryan Farragher capped the run with his first basket of the contest.
 
Derik Young's 3-pointer with 11:56 remaining in the game gave John Carroll a brief 57-56 lead. Alvernia counted with a 5-0 run to reclaim a four-point advantage.
 
The Blue and Gold answered with an 11-0 run to build a five-point lead at 70-65 with 9:16 remaining. Danny Wallack capped the run with a 3-pointer.
 
A late 7-0 run from the Crusaders put Alvernia up six with 3:23 remaining. The Crusaders would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game.

Alvernia's Charles Cooper finished with a team-high 21 points.
 
John Carroll returns to action with a 2 p.m. tilt against Centenary (N.J.) at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16.