Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
JCU Men's Basketball after winning at Mount Union
The Blue Streaks sweep the season series with the Raiders for the first time since 2011-12.
74
Winner John Carroll JCU 21-1,15-0 OAC
66
Mount Union MTU 17-5,10-5 OAC
Winner
John Carroll JCU
21-1,15-0 OAC
74
Final
66
Mount Union MTU
17-5,10-5 OAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
John Carroll JCU 37 37 74
Mount Union MTU 36 30 66

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

Men's Basketball Locks Up OAC Regular Season Title with Victory at Mount Union

ALLIANCE  – The rivalry between the John Carroll Blue Streaks and Mount Union Purple Raiders runs deep, with decades long dogfights across almost every sport the two schools compete in. The last three  matchups between the two men's basketball teams have contained an innumerable amount of twists, turns, ups, and downs, and tonight was the culmination.

This matchup was a clash of titans, and it played out just as one might expect a battle of this magnitude. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, there was not a dull moment between the two teams, and the Blue and Gold came out on top, winning 74-66. 

The win catapults the Blue Streaks to the top of the mountain in the Ohio Athletic Conference, remaining perfect at 15-0, clinching their second straight regular season title, the first time the team has done so since three-peating from 2002-03 to 2004-05. 

Additionally, the win at Timken Gym marks the first sweep of the Purple Raiders since 2011-12, and the first win in Alliance since February 27, 2014. 

The opening tip went to the Purple Raiders, and the crowd of 2,400 strong immediately awakened. Chase Toppin opened the scoring with a strong drive to the basket, but Christian Parker, the anchor for the hosts, answered back to knot the score at two. Parker got his second of three baskets 30 seconds later to give the Purple Raiders the lead, and the crowd once again erupted. Henry Raynor got to the rim a couple possessions later, once again knotting the score. 

The scoring in this one was sparse, with only 4 points being scored by both teams over a period of 4 minutes, the two defenses refusing to give any ground, physicality abound. By the 15-minute mark, the score was 6-6, and the bloodbath was only just beginning, as proved by Chase Toppin soaring for a fastbreak dunk off a steal at midcourt.

In the later stages of the first half, Newsom was hit on a screen and went to the ground in obvious pain. A Blue Streak turnover stopped play, and Newsom got up shortly after and was hot. He took an angry walk around the floor with a teammate, and the crowd roared back to life because of the display of anger. 

The game would continue to follow this up and down trend, with the Purple Raiders igniting the raucous crowd with a short run, and the Blue Streaks responding with consecutive buckets of their own, with the lead pinballing up and down. The scoring opened up even further with six minutes remaining in the half, with a combined 24 points scored in the final stages from both teams providing sparks from the crossing swords. 

The end of the first half was not short of intrigue, with both teams trading buckets, but the Blue Streaks managed to carry a one point lead into the half at 37-36, which oddly provoked a roar from the home fans. 

The second half, unbelievably, was a wild, peculiar, insane 20 minutes. 

The Purple Raiders immediately jumped on the Blue Streaks, swinging the game back into their favor with a 8-0 run in the first two minutes, a stark contrast to the snail's pace of the first half. The Blue Streaks responded through a Luke Frazier jumper, but both teams began to trade buckets after the fact. For most of the first stage of the final frame, both teams traded baskets, the visitors unable to get within four points. The Purple Raider crowd exploded on every basket, and the defensive intensity on the other end from Mount made the volume go even higher. 

Timken Gymnasium reached a fever pitch when a stepback three by Collen Gurley pushed the Purple Raider lead to nine, their largest of the game, which prompted a Blue Streak timeout. 

Momentum had seemingly careened completely into the favor of Mount Union, with the crowd, players, and event staff all celebrating the lead, which was massive by the evening's standards. 

However, Luke Chicone walked into the huddle during the timeout and shouted "We ain't losing!" and the Blue Streaks had one goal: get stops. 

And get stops they did. Over the next 9 minutes, the Purple Raiders scored 3 points, and the Blue Streaks meticulously broke the spirit of the gymnasium. 

The Purple Raiders took several timeouts during this stretch, and it did not faze the Blue Streaks in the slightest. Jerry Higgins yelled "Stay the course!" during one such timeout, and all 25 members of the team knew exactly what it would take to hold on. 

A defensive stop led to loud cheering from the contingent of Blue Streak fans, which led to a score, and that fed into the growing tenor of the visiting team and fans. The lead slowly shrunk to 7, then 5, then 2, and evaporated with seven minutes remaining in the contest. The sleeping giant in the No. 1 team in the country had awoken. 

The Blue Streaks took their first lead since the beginning of the half with six minutes left, and the ensuing possession had yet another wild instance. 

Darrel Newsom went to the line for two free throws, making the first. However, the second free throw lingered on the front of the rim for what felt like several seconds, and Luke Frazier inadvertently hit the net, drawing a goaltend. Upon a review and official conversation, the play was ruled a technical foul, as is the rule when a goaltend occurs on a free throw, a fantastically rare occurrence, fitting for this contest. 

Both technical free throws were missed, and the Blue Streaks managed to get yet another hard-nosed stop. 

Will Yontek pushed the lead to five, and the Purple Raiders finally managed to score their second and third points in eight minutes through two made free throws. The Blue Streaks continued to impose their will in the final two minutes, getting clutch buckets and forcing crucial turnovers to all but seal the regular season OAC crown. 

The drama was not finished, however, as a Mount Union ejection came in the final 30 seconds, putting the matchup on ice. 

In the end, the Blue Streaks came out victorious, clinching the OAC all to themselves with a 74-66 win. 

It was a team effort tonight for the Blue and Gold. The Blue Streaks did not shoot well on the evening, but a 22-for-26 mark from the free throw line gave them the crucial boost they needed to get the win. Luke Frazier paced the team with 17 points and 10 rebounds, yet another double-double for the junior. Luka Eller was a monster all over the floor tonight, adding 13 points and 10 rebounds, the first double-double of the season for him. Will Yontek would add 10 points for himself, and his Saint Ignatius comrades Chase Toppin and Henry Raynor both chipped in 9. 

Tonight's effort was unreal from the Blue Streaks. Winning in a fashion such as that is a rare occurrence at any level of basketball, and the top ranked team in the nation showcased the defensive intensity and mental toughness necessary to compete against any opponent that may cross paths with them. 

The regular season OAC champions will host the Marietta Pioneers this Saturday for their second to last regular season home contest of the year. 
Print Friendly Version

Sponsors