With a 60-point scoring performance in the second half, the John Carroll men's basketball team defeated the Olivet Comets, 111-90, on day one of the Russ DeVette/Holland Sentinel Classic in Holland, Michigan.
 
This is the second time this season the Blue Streaks matched up against the Comets. John Carroll last faced Olivet on November 25 in Kalamazoo, where the Blue Streaks upended the Comets, 126-105, and scored the second-highest number of points in program history for a single game.

While not quite reaching those heights today, the 237 points scored against Olivet this year represents the most against an opponent that JCU has faced twice in the same season in program history.
 
From the outset, Olivet appeared determined to author a much different script than the first meeting. The Comets scored the first six points of the contest and led by as many as eight points in the first half. Following Aaron Washington's three-pointer at the 8:04 mark, Olivet held a 28-20 lead.

JCU immediately responded with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 30-30, and for the next five minutes, neither team had a lead of more than three points.

The Comets had one last surge, and took a 46-39 advantage on yet another Washington three ball with 2:15 remaining on the clock. However, a three pointer by Sean Flannery and a pair of free throws by Jimmy Berger caped a closing 12-2 run which gave John Carroll a three-point lead going into halftime (51-48).
 
John Carroll came out on fire in the second half and did not look back. A stunning 34-8 run over the opening 10:04 of the second half carried the Blue Streaks.  At one point during that burst, JCU rattled off 22 unanswered points,caped by a Luke Hippler jumper that gave the Blue Streaks an 85-56 advantage.

The Blue Streaks held a game-high 31-point lead (100-69) at the 6:40 mark and eventually closed out the game with a 21-point margin.
 
As a team, John Carroll shot 18-34 (.529) from beyond the arc, totaling 54 of the team's points. Jackson Sartain led the team with five, while Matt Csuhran followed with four.

Sartain also recorded a team-high 17 points over his 17 minutes of play. In addition to Sartain, Csuhran and John Cirillo both notched 16 points apiece and shot a combined 11-22 from the field. Ryan Berger (14) and Antonio Vuyancih (12) also reached double figures for JCU, which won its fourth game in a row and improved to 9-1.

The 9-1 start marks just the fifth time in program history that the Blue Streaks have won at least nine of their first ten games. The 2004-05 and 2015-16 teams started 10-0, while the 2017-18 squad joins those from 1922-23 and 1996-97 that began their respective seasons at 9-1. The overall combined end of the year record of those other four fast starting teams stands at 82-19.

Sean Flannery (9) and Jimmy Berger (6) combined for 15 assists, and also accounted for a combined seven of JCU's 17 steals that helped feed Olivet's 26 turnovers
 
Olivet, which fell to 4-6, was paced by Washington (16), Tracy Edmond (16) and Jalen Adams (16). The Comets won the rebounding battle by an 11-carom margin (48-37).

The Blue Streaks will next face Hope College tomorrow on day two of the Hope College Holiday Tournament at 3 p.m.