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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Will Yontek vs. Otterbein on 1-17-24
Jose Figueroa
Will Yontek and the big men played a large role in the road victory.
82
Winner John Carroll JCU 16-1,10-0 OAC
75
Ohio Northern ONU 9-8,4-6 OAC
Winner
John Carroll JCU
16-1,10-0 OAC
82
Final
75
Ohio Northern ONU
9-8,4-6 OAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
John Carroll JCU 36 46 82
Ohio Northern ONU 41 34 75

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

Men's Basketball Pushes Past Polar Bears in Road Victory

ADA – The state of Ohio was rocked this week by a flash freeze and winter storm that created some very cold conditions in the Buckeye State this week. That did not stop the John Carroll Men's Basketball Team from traveling to Ada, the home of the aptly named Polar Bears for an arctic showdown in the ONU Sports Center. 

The hosts threw everything they had and more at the No. 3 ranked team in the country, but the Blue Streaks showed grit and poise, getting a strong 82-75 win, snagging their 10th conference win. 

With the win, JCU moves to 10-0 in conference play, with a three-game lead in the conference standings with eight games left. 

The Polar Bears wasted no time building momentum in front of the home crowd, jumping out to an early 4-1 lead in the opening two minutes. The Blue Streaks responded with a triple and three point play courtesy of the "Luke's", but the Polar Bears once again countered with a mini run of their own, retaking the lead 10-9. 

This type of play was the tenor of the half, with both teams throwing punches back and forth and responding in kind. Unfortunately for the Blue Streaks, they would have to play most of the half from behind, the Polar Bear screening and cutting proving to be difficult to defend. Shots were also hard to come by, a stark contrast to the pace the visitors usually can dictate in a game. 

Both teams continued to trade baskets throughout the half, with the home squad getting into foul trouble early, sending the Streaks to the line quite a bit throughout the contest. 

A Luke Frazier mid-range jumper with 7 minutes left put the game at 23-22, marking the first Blue Streak lead since the opening minutes of the initial frame. Henry Raynor would get the last Blue Streak lead of the first half at 25-24 with a layup. 

The Polar Bears continued to keep the Blue Streaks at bay with timely shots to extend their lead. Luke Frazier had a great opportunity to close the gap from three to 1, but came up just short, and an incredible outlet pass allowed the Polar Bears to get a layup at the buzzer, putting the Blue Streaks down 41-36 at the break with some work to do. 

A seasoned Blue Streaks squad has a wealth of experience from the last two seasons, and this situation was not new to them. Physicality and hard defense was the name of the game in the second half, and the Blue and Gold did just that. 

A quick opening bucket from the Polar Bears gave them their largest lead of the contest at seven points, but the Blue and Gold got it in gear. The Polar Bears managed to maintain a five-point lead for the first 5 minutes of the second half, but the visiting squad began to wear on ONU, with a Luke Frazier triple tying the game for the first time since the midway point in the first half. 

The turnaround for the Blue Streaks was not easy, and Devin Burgess knew exactly what the crucial moment was. "A spinning layup in transition from Chase Toppin energized us. His effort gave us life." 

A Toppin layup and Henry Raynor bucket stretched the lead to 5 for the Blue Streaks. The road squad was not done increasing their lead, as Jerry Higgins got a bucket to extend the JCU lead to seven with nine and a half minutes remaining in the game. The scoring finally opened up for the Blue Streaks in the final nine minutes, scoring 24 points in the final stages.  

The Blue Streaks were able to get crucial answers to late Polar Bear runs, the lead being stretched to as many as nine.The Polar Bears managed to get within one at 67-66 with less than 4 minutes remaining in the contest, but a Luka Eller layup managed to stop the run and keep the matchup at arms length. 

The lead grew back to nine in the ensuing two minutes, effectively putting the game away with a little over a minute left to go. Good free throw shooting iced the contest, giving the Blue Streaks a gritty 82-75 win over the feisty Polar Bears. 

It took a combined effort from the Blue Streaks to get this win. Luke Chicone paced the Blue Streaks with a game leading 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, an all-around game leading the team. Luke Frazier added 16 points and 2 steals, getting to his spots and providing a huge offensive boost. 

Chase Toppin and Jerry Higgins III were integral to the defensive effort in the second half, making life very difficult for the young ONU guards. Toppin finished with 9 points and Higgins got a basket for himself. 

The big men added great scoring and defense, with Eller, Raynor, Will Yontek and David Gentry combining for 32 of the 82 points, Raynor scoring 10, Yontek 9, Eller 8, and Gentry 5. 

This win for the Blue Streaks moves the team to 16-1 on the season and 10-0 in conference play, a great start to the second round of a difficult OAC schedule. 

Next up, the Blue Streaks will travel to Tiffin for a midweek duel with the Student Princes of Heidelberg this Wednesday. 
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