Jose Figueroa

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/30/2025 7:46:00 PM | Aiden Ramsden, Staff Writer

Men's Basketball Loses to Undefeated Pitt-Greensburg in Albright Holiday Tourney Title

Jack Zapolnik and the Blue Streaks mounted a ferocious comeback but the Bobcats held on

READING, Penn. -- For the first time this season, John Carroll Men's Basketball suffered a loss to a non-conference opponent.

Despite a late surge, the Blue Streaks were unable to overcome a 19-point deficit in the second game of Albright College's Double Tree Holiday Tournament at the George C. Bollman Center.

The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg notched a 107-95 victory over JCU to win the tournament and remain undefeated at the year, now 11-0. JCU's win streak ended at 4 games, dropping to 9-3 on the year.

The Bobcats came out hot, taking a quick 4-point lead. A Kyle Irwin three got the scoring started for the Blue Streaks and a Luke Chicone layup on the next possession gave John Carroll the early lead, but Pitt responded with a 9-0 run to take back control. Another three from Irwin put a stop to the early run as the game trended towards evening out.

The teams exchanged scores with the Blue Streaks attempting to get closer but were continuously denied. Eventually Justin Chapman knocked down a three to reduce the deficit to just two. The Bobcats once again responded fiercely, this time in the form of a 13-2 run that saw JCU trailing 31-17 not even 9 minutes into the game. An and-one opportunity from Kasey Hunt eventually put a stop to the run and seemed to give the Streaks some energy and life.

John Carroll started to chip away at the lead thanks to a mini-run that was kickstarted and led by Chicone. Jack Zapolnik's first three of the game had the Blue Streaks back within five heading into the under 8 media timeout. Coming out of the break, a Chicone lob that was finished off by Brandon Rose appeared to have the Streaks rolling. That momentum continued as Chicone took a trip to the free throw line. After making the first he missed the second but was able to grab his own rebound and finish down low with a layup to cut the Pitt lead back down to two. Unfortunately the Bobcats were unfazed, as they closed out the half on an 18-8 run to take a comfortable 59-47 lead into halftime.

The story of the first half was clearly the shooting totals. While both teams were shooting well, Pitt-Greensburg was on a different level, shooting 63.6% from the field while sitting at 50% from behind the three point line.

The Bobcats started the new half with a quick bucket, but Hunt responded with a layup as he got fouled. After missing the bonus free throw it was Hunt's turn to grab his own rebound off the miss and put it back in. Despite that type of play typically being a momentum booster, it wasn't enough as the Bobcats put their foot right back on the gas pedal and ballooned their lead to 19 with just over 15 minutes to play.

The Blue Streaks began to battle back as another Zapolnik three cut the deficit to 10 just three minutes later. However, some hot shooting from Pitt-Greensburg combined with defensive mishaps from John Carroll saw the Blue and Gold staring down an 18-point deficit with eight-and-a-half minutes to go.

Despite the steep hill, the next six minutes were all Blue Streaks. An impressive pass from Zapolnik found Hunt open down low and then a steal on the defensive end that led to a Mike Lamirand three, which ignited a much needed late game run by JCU. It seemed as if the Streaks could do no wrong as a pair of improbable Chicone layups followed by another set of threes from the sophomore duo of Zapolnik and Lamirand had John Carroll back within single digits for the first time since the 2:16 mark of the first half.

The momentum did not stop there, as Chicone, Hunt, and Zapolnik all scored before a Lamirand layup had the Streaks within three as the score read 98-95 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. Unfortunately, that layup would be the final make of the game for JCU, as the Bobcats corrected themselves and pulled away late with the 12-point victory.

For the first time all season, the Blue Streaks failed to win the turnover battle as each team finished with 17 turnovers.

Luke Chicone led all scorers with 27 points while also tallying 8 assists. Kasey Hunt added an additional 17 points while Jack Zapolnik contributed 14 while shooting 66% (4-of-6) from behind the arc.

Both Hunt and Chicone made the All-Tournament team.

Up Next
The Blue Streaks return to action in the new year on Saturday, January 3 as they travel to Greencastle, Indiana for their inaugural matchup with the DePauw Tigers. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 pm.

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