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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Sartain 2
Jackson Sartain was the Tournament MVP after leading JCU in scoring on Saturday. 
93
Winner John Carroll JCU 3-0,0-0 OAC
84
Buffalo St. BUFFST 0-3,0-0 SUNYAC
Winner
John Carroll JCU
3-0,0-0 OAC
93
Final
84
Buffalo St. BUFFST
0-3,0-0 SUNYAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
John Carroll JCU 49 44 93
Buffalo St. BUFFST 47 37 84

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Deuce Zak, Staff Writer

Red-Hot Offense Powers Road Victory over Buffalo State

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- On the second day of the Community Health Center of Buffalo Classic, John Carroll Men's Basketball took on the Buffalo State Bengals in their home gym. 

The Blue Streaks battled hard in the first half, came out in the second half strong, and knocked Buffalo State down on the way to a 93-84 victory. 

This contest between the Blue Streaks and Bengals was a battle for all 40 minutes, seeing both teams go on big runs, play tough defense, and play hard. 

The first half was especially this way, with neither team leading by more than six at any point in the half. The Blue Streaks struggled against the Bengals to start the game, taking their first lead at the 4-minute mark in the first half. Sheldon Adams (32 points) and Philbert Weekes (17 points, 28 rebounds) played a huge role in the success of the Bengals, commanding attention on defense and opening lanes for other scorers. 

For the Blue Streaks, Jackson Sartain (27 points, 5-of-7 pointers), and Chase Toppin (22 points) carried much of the load in the first half, with Sartain hitting his first three shots, including two triples, to keep John Carroll in the game. Along with Toppin and Sartain, William Wallace (15 points) stepped up in a big way, playing lockdown defense on Sheldon Adams and point guard Aaron Davis (12 points, 5-of-15 from the field), forcing the Bengals to look elsewhere for scoring. After a tough Jackson Sartain with time running down in the first half, the Blue Streaks managed to take a 2-point lead into the half, up 49-47. 

In the second half, the Blue & Gold exploded. Riding the momentum of taking the lead at the end of the first, John Carroll was firing on all cylinders, erupting for a 19-2 run to start the second. During the run, as buckets kept falling and the Blue Streaks started to pull away, you could feel the energy swirling. From the players on the court to the end of the bench, everyone in Blue and Gold was into it, with a roar coming at every John Carroll bucket or defensive stop. The Blue Streaks stretched the game to their biggest lead at 71-49, punching the Bengals in the mouth. During that stretch, Wallace and Hugh Brown (4 points) held Adams, Weekes, and Davis scoreless, taking any momentum Buffalo State had and tearing it apart. 

The Bengals never gave up in the second half, however, continuing to battle, responding with a run of their own, quickly closing the gap to 71-60. From there, both teams would hit big shots or get big stops, the Bengals cutting the lead to as little as four at 81-77. For several minutes, the Blue Streaks struggled to score, but Sartain delivered what was the decisive blow, knocking down a three over Aaron Davis to extend the lead to 84-77. The Blue Streaks held firm from that moment forward, securing a 93-84 win over Buffalo State. 

The Blue Streaks had a strong game from the stat sheet. The team shot 33-of-66 for the game, sharing the ball well with 23 assists, and converting after Bengal mistakes, scoring 30 points off turnovers. Jackson Sartain stuffed the stat sheet, leading the Blue Streaks with 27 points, shooting 11-of-13 from the field, grabbing 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Chase Toppin added 22, scoring 20 or more for the fourth game in a row. 

Toppin and Sartain made the All-Tournament team. Sartain garnered Tournament MVP honors. 

William Wallace played the role of unlikely hero today, putting up 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, and adding an incredible defensive performance unquantifiable on the stat sheet. Hugh Brown also stepped up in a big way, forming somewhat of a defensive duo with Wallace in the second half, though not filling the stat sheet as much, adding 4 points and 2 rebounds. Eric Hanna had 8 points, while the duo of bigs Mason Trubisky and David Gentry chipped in 6 points each. Connor O'Toole had as many assists as he had points, adding 5 of each. 
    
For the Bengals, Sheldon Adams led all scores with 32 points on 9-of-24 shooting, knocking down 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Philbert Weekes had a strong performance as well, putting up 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbing an astounding 28 rebounds. Aaron Davis had 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting to go along with 7 assists for Buffalo State. Robert Richards had 7 points, and a flurry of other Bengals contributed a flurry of points off the bench. 
    
The John Carroll Men's Basketball completed their second trip to Buffalo this weekend, notching two more wins and improving to 4-0 on the season, with 3 of the 4 victories coming by 10 plus points. 

The Blue and Gold will be travelling to Case Western Reserve next weekend to take on the Spartans of CWRU, looking to improve to 5-0 and continue to build off a strong start to the 2021-2022 season.
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