Maurice Haynes, shown here guarding Chris Moore, was one a number of players who made big plays against Division I Cleveland State
box score
According to head coach Mike Moran, the mission of the John Carroll men's basketball team in its game against Division I Cleveland State was to make sure everyone who came to watch would stay the whole game.
The Blue Streaks certainly made that happen, as they made the host Vikings play a full 40 minute to secure a 67-57 victory Saturday afternoon at the Wolstein Center.
“I don't know what the crowd total was, but I think everyone got their money's worth today,” said Moran. “We did some different things today, somewhat against the grain of what we normally do, in an effort to control the temp of the game a bit more than we have in the past. Overall, I am very happy with our effort.”
John Carroll was aggressive early, and took a 10-5 lead at the 15:59 mark of the first half on a lay-up by Derek Smith.
The Vikings responded by scoring the next six points for their first lead of the game.
Back-to-back three pointers by Tony DeMichele and Terry Walsh would help JCU match its largest lead of the afternoon at 18-13 with 9:06 to play, but again the Vikings responded – this time with a 12-0 run that gave the host team a 25-18 lead with five minutes left in the half.
JCU closed to within four points at 29-25 on a Walsh lay-up, but consecutive baskets by the Vikings would put Cleveland State ahead by a 33-25 score at the half.
The Blue Streaks would again close to four when TJ DiSanto and Rudy Kirbus opened the second half with a pair of two-pointers. The Vikings were able to withstand the early surge and push the lead out to 15 points with just under 11 minutes to play in the second half.
John Carroll took one last run at the Vikings, as a pair of Kirbus free throws with just under four minutes remaining cut the deficit to eight points at 61-53. But the Vikings answered with three consecutive baskets and were able to cruise from there to a 10-point victory.
“Our problems were more with execution than effort,” said Moran. “That being said, we threw a lot at our players in the last few weeks, and they responded admirably.”
Cleveland State (4-2) was led by St. John's transfer Cedric Jackson, who had 12 points. J'Nathan Bullock and Joe Davis each had ten points for the Vikings, who held a decisive 43-29 edge in rebounds but managed just 1-12 shooting from beyond the arc.
John Carroll (2-1) received a game-high 18 points from Walsh and a season-high 16 from Kirbus. JCU was 7-16 (.438) from three-point range but committed 21 turnovers.
