Box Score

Looking to avenge a buzzer-beater in New Concord on Jan. 4, the John Carroll University men's basketball team hosted Muskingum looking to make a exclamation point.

Backed by can-you-top-this slam dunks from Jake Hollinger and Simon Kucharewicz and a relentless defense that had 19 steals, the Blue and Gold earned a hard-fought 87-83 win on Saturday afternoon inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

The victory was secured by a 3-pointer by Joey Vuyancih with 23 seconds remaining which extended John Carroll's lead to two possessions.

The game was filled with physical and fast paced gameplay. Both teams focused on pushing the ball immediately after a missed shot. The teams combined for 13 lead changes and 10 ties. A dunk by Simon Kucharewicz gave JCU the lead for good with 4:35 remaining.

The Blue Streaks knew that the fast break was the key to winning the game as a huge 13-4 run occurred in the first half. Sophomore Nicholas Ruckel sparked the run.

Ruckel, a sophomore who entered the day with eight points on the season erupted for a career-high 14 points including 10 in the first half.

"Give Nick a lot of credit," said assistant coach Frank O'Brien. "He hasn't seen a lot of playing time for the season. He works his tail off in practice every single day. Coach Moran gave him the opportunity and he's stepped up big-time for us."

A key to keeping the momentum in the Blue Streaks favor was the use of the dunk. The two big centers, Jake Hollinger and Simon Kucharewicz, were able to get the crowd of their feet with emphatic slams all afternoon.

"Whenever you can get those breakaways and finish with the exclamation point it brings engery to the team," said O'Brien.

John Carroll was also able to secure the victory from tenacious defensive team play as the Blue Streaks were able to steal the ball a total of 19 times. The Blue Streaks were also able to block the Fighting Muskies a total of six times.

JCU featured contributions from the whole team. Hollinger paced the winning effort with 13 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double. Kucharewicz tied for the team-lead with 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Vuyancih joined Ruckel and Kucharewicz with 13 points in the win. David Hendrickson (11) and Caputo (10) also reached double figures.

"At practice we just live for the dunks," said Kucharewicz. "Coach always says do some power moves so we always practice them. They could not block us. That's one of the strengths of the team, our big men. We just have to exploit that and get the best out of us."

David Linane had a busy day on both ends of the floor directing the offense and defense. The freshman finished with season-bests in assists (10) and steals (6).

The Blue Streaks enjoyed a 52-38 advantage in the paint and a 46-14 advantage in bench points.

John Carroll improved to 12-7, 6-6 OAC while Muskingum fell to 7-12, 2-10 OAC.

The men's basketball team travels Heidelberg on Wednesday Feb. 5 for a 7:30 p.m. tilt.