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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Will Yontek dunk vs. Baldwin Wallace on 1-31-24
Sam Herr
John Carroll's big men dominated in the post in the DeCarlo Center.
70
Baldwin Wallace BW 5-15,2-11 OAC
102
Winner John Carroll JCU 19-1,13-0 OAC
Baldwin Wallace BW
5-15,2-11 OAC
70
Final
102
John Carroll JCU
19-1,13-0 OAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Baldwin Wallace BW 30 40 70
John Carroll JCU 54 48 102

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Brendan Kantz, Staff Writer

Men's Basketball Boxes Out Baldwin Wallace in Home Rivalry Win

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS -- The OAC TV Game of Week stage was set in University Heights Wednesday night in front of a sold out Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center. The #2 ranked Blue Streaks looked to remain undefeated in Ohio Athletic Conference play, and storied crosstown rival Baldwin Wallace was the obstacle in the way. 

The Blue Streaks smoothly sailed to a 102-70 victory over Baldwin Wallace, the largest margin of victory for John Carroll in series history. 

The home crowd energy was felt all night long, largely due in part to massive performances by Luke Frazier and Luke Chicone. The dynamic duo once again dazzled, as Frazier finished with a game-high 23 points, and Chicone just behind with 21. 

Luke Chicone spoke postgame about his long lasting relationship with Frazier.

"The funny thing is we were actually childhood rivals… but over time, he's become my best friend, and we take that competitive nature from our childhood to now, and we're always happy for each other."

The Blue Streaks struck first, with Henry Raynor laying one in with his right hand quickly in transition following the tip-off. The Yellow Jackets would immediately respond on the other end after a high ball screen freed up a cutting Myles Reynolds, who would take the easy bucket for BW's first points of the evening. John Carroll's high intensity pace and early defense would contribute to a 20-10 lead for the Blue Streaks at the near midway point of the first half. Luke Chicone was the spark plug offensively, scoring 12 out of the first 20 John Carroll points. Defensively, back-to-back steals by Chase Toppin and Jerry Higgins III led to a 10-0 scoring run, forcing Baldwin Wallace to take a timeout trailing 28-13 with 9:47 remaining in the opening half. 

Despite the big deficit, Baldwin Wallace mustered a 6-0 run of their own. Consecutive stop and pop three-pointers by Myles Reynolds and Ray Ellington kickstarted a 6-0 Yellow Jacket run, a potential jumpstart for a slow starting Baldwin Wallace squad. 

The Blue Streaks would not be fazed, however, carrying an 8-0 run into the half following a sweet spin move layup by Chicone and a quick finish in transition from Luke Frazier. Frazier put a statement on the first half with a monstrous block on a driving Ray Ellington as time expired. John Carroll, riding momentum, would take a convincing 54-30 lead at the break. 

Chicone led all scorers at the midway point, notching 14 points in the first half off of an efficient 6-of-10 shooting from the field, and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Will Yontek also put together a tremendous half, adding 10 points and 4 rebounds. Luke Frazier notched 3 blocks in the opening half, almost tripling his fifth-in-the-OAC 1.2 blocks per game. Myles Reynolds led the way for the Yellow Jackets, scoring 9 points, and adding a rebound. 

With the second half underway, Henry Raynor once again opened the scoring for the Blue Streaks, capitalizing on a hard earned layup. Baldwin Wallace quickly fired back thanks to an Andrew Griffith triple, his first points of the night. 

Back-and-forth basketball would ensue, with both teams trading buckets, and Baldwin Wallace desperate looking for a climb back. Five minutes into the second half, BW would once again see a 6-0 run, all due in part to back to back three pointers by Miles Reynolds, who extended his point total to a team leading 18 points. The John Carroll lead stood at 70-46.

Once again, the Blue Streaks refused to let momentum slip, as Chicone answered Reynolds' hot-streak, sinking a tough right hand layup, forcing Baldwin Wallace's veteran coach Tom Heil to call a timeout. 

Out of the timeout, a defensive stand by John Carroll resulted in a wide open Chicone three-pointer, almost totally erasing the short lived Yellow Jacket 6-0 run. The Blue Streaks continued to impress, up 73-46, with Chicone still leading the way with an easy 19 points. 

With time waning down in the last half of action, Frazier rained down a thunderous one hand jam from a pretty assist by Chase Toppin off of a backdoor cut. Frazier's dunk would be the exclamation point on another signature Blue Streak win, with John Carroll ahead, 89-63, with just five minutes remaining. 

A classic quick-tempo, stellar defense, and high flying offensive performance by John Carroll led to the defeat of rival Baldwin Wallace 102-70. The Blue Streaks hit the century mark for just the second time this season. With the win, the Streaks improved to 19-1 overall and remain undefeated in OAC play, at a remarkable 13-0. 

Luke Frazier and Luke Chicone combined for 44 points in the victory, along with the bigs lighting up the scoring sheet credit to a dominant presence in the paint all night long. Henry Raynor would rack up 18 points underneath, and Will Yontek would tack on 15 points for himself, a season high. 

JCU dominated in the post, as evidenced by a 56-34 advantage on points in the paint and a 43-21 advantage in rebounds. JCU's 60.3% shooting from the field also ranks tied for the seventh-best mark in a game in program history. 

Perhaps the most wholesome moment of the night occurred following the game, when senior forward Luka Eller was signing free autographs for kids on his recently released basketball card. 

"It's awesome, knowing that not only do these look up to me, but the school program and see the strides we make as a team," said Eller. "It's a testament to how well we're doing right now, so we just gotta keep it up and hopefully there will be more kids to ask for autographs."

The men's basketball team will return to the court on Saturday afternoon at Wilmington College. Tip-off is set for 2 pm. 
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