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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Luke Chicone action shot
Ben Peskar
The Blue Streaks garnered turnovers and passed well, in part thanks to 8 Luke Chicone assists. 
80
Winner John Carroll JCU 3-0,0-0 OAC
73
UW-River Falls UWRF 1-1,0-0 WIAC
Winner
John Carroll JCU
3-0,0-0 OAC
80
Final
73
UW-River Falls UWRF
1-1,0-0 WIAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
John Carroll JCU 37 43 80
UW-River Falls UWRF 34 39 73

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

Men's Basketball Opens Lee Pfund Classic with a Win over UW River-Falls

WHEATON, Ill. -- This time last year, the John Carroll Men's Basketball team was traveling to Buffalo for the Buffalo State Coles Classic, a tournament in which they went 2-0. This year, they opted to go to Wheaton for a two game tournament, avoiding the mega-blizzard hitting the New York area. 

The Blue Streaks started their weekend off right with a huge wire to wire win, beating the Falcons of the University of Wisconsin River-Falls by a final score of 80-73, earning a spot in the finals of the Wheaton Tournament, aka the Lee Pfund Classic. 
 
The Blue and Gold jumped out to a hot start, jumping on the methodical Falcons squad, fueled by Eric Hanna knocking down three triples, forcing a UWRF timeout with 11:37, as JCU held a 22-7 lead. The hot start for JCU was not sustainable, however. The Falcons battled back with a vengeance and outscored the Blue and Gold 27-15 in the final 11 minutes of the half, pulling within 3 by halftime, going to the locker room with the score at 37-34 JCU. 

The second half took on a much different complexion for the Blue Streaks. The coaching staff made some adjustments at the half, and the execution from the Blue and Gold was sharp. 

Defensively, JCU continued to give UWRF fits, forcing 22 turnovers on the night, and capitalizing in kind. Luke Frazier lead the way in the second half in the scoring department for the Blue Streaks, pouring in 17 points and was on the receiving end of several great Luke Chicone passes, as well as nabbing a steal and slam in the second half. 

The bigs also provided a huge boost on both sides of the floor for JCU. They provided a constant anchor on defense, not allowing any easy shots in the paint. In the end, the Blue Streaks held firm and bested the Falcons by a final score of 80-73. Jerry Higgins nailed 4 clutch free throws in crunch time to seal the contest, and strong execution as time whittled down was the key. 

After the game, Henry Raynor summed up the second half perfectly: "We came out with more energy… A little pep in our step. We can go 10 deep and wear teams down. We're scary." 

 All four of the bigs that played tonight, Henry Raynor, Will Yontek, Luka Eller, and David Gentry combined for 31 of the Blue Streaks 80 points. In addition to the bigs, JCU once again brought a very balanced scoring attack. Frazier led the team in scoring with 17, Raynor with 12, Chicone and Yontek with 11, and Chase Toppin adding 9 in the win. 

The Blue Streaks return to action on Saturday at 7 pm against Wheaton in the tournament title game. 
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