Like a train with a full head of steam, the Blue Streaks never stopped turning the wheels in the opening game of the Carthage Classic at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. John Carroll never trailed in handing a 117-80 defeat to the Indiana University Northwest Red Hawks.

The #18 ranked Blue Streaks will face #5 ranked and host Carthage College in Saturday's championship tilt, scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start local time.

Box Score

John Carroll (2-0) bottomed 11 shots from beyond the arc, including a team-high four 3-pointers from junior guard Corey Shontz. Indiana Northwest was paced by sharp-shooter Carl Hampton Jr., a senior forward from Chicago, IL, who knocked down all six of his 3-point attempts. Both players had a game-high 23 points.

The Blue Streaks started quickly, getting out to an early 7-0 lead. The Red Hawks were plagued by turnovers throughout the first half, giving away the basketball 14 times in the early going. The Blue Streaks pressure defense suffocated both Hampton and senior guard Keith Dean, both of whom turned the ball over five times on the night.

After senior forward Maurice Haynes got in foul trouble early in the first half, the Blue Streak guards turned to the deep ball. Junior Mike Hartnett, Corey Shontz and junior DeAndre Richardson all downed two deep balls in the first half.

But Hampton's five first half three's at least kept the Red Hawks within striking distance. The up-tempo pace that the Red Hawks played in the early going fit right into Coach Moran's game plan, and the Streaks took a 57-44 lead into the intermission.

John Carroll got off to a fast start in the second half, thanks to a 13-7 scoring run in the opening four minutes of the second half and a defensive effort that forced three 5-second violations.

Haynes, who weathered his early foul trouble, put up ten points in a span four minutes to push the JCU lead out to 84-56 with just less than 11 minutes to play.

“I wanted to come out on to the floor and play as hard as I could,” said Haynes after the game. “I know if I'm aggressive in the paint, I can get buckets.”

With less than three minutes to play, freshman guard Kyle Wise hit a 3-ball from the left side to earn his first collegiate points. Junior forward Greg Brown's layup with less than a minute to play was his first basket as a Blue Streak as well.

Kyle Hubbard scored 20 off the bench in 18 minutes of action. DeAndre Richardson (12), Maurice Haynes (15) and Joey Meyer (13) also scored in double figures in the win.

“We saw a lot of zone defense tonight and we struggled to find our shot right out of the gate,” said Coach Moran after the game. “But we kept firing until we got on a roll. Tomorrow's game is going to be huge for us and we won't be able to afford to shoot poorly."