Box Score What a sweet way to close out the Thanksgiving holiday. Courtesy of a dominating second half performance, the John Carroll Blue Streaks lifted the Spalding Thanksgiving Tournament plaque in a 91-65 blowout win over the Victory University Eagles.

John Carroll (3-1, 0-0 OAC) downed 15 three's, shooting 48.4% from beyond the arc. Victory (7-2) struggled to put points on the board throughout the second half, shooting only 10-26 in the second period.

Box Score

John Carroll trailed only momentarily in the beginning of the game. On a Keron Jackson jumper, Victory took a 6-5 lead less than two minutes after the opening tip. But over the next few minutes, the Streaks quickly opened up a double-digit lead, 22-12, on Joe Meyer's second long range shot of the game. Meyer finished with a game-high 19 points on 7-10 shooting and 5-7 from beyond the arc.

With 9:59 to play in the first half, sophomore Jeff Chahine connected on a 3-pointer, his first as a Blue Streak. Chahine had an outstanding game, knocking down 5-6 beyond the 3-point line on the night.

“When Jeff (Chahine) was in high school at Youngstown Mooney, he did this on a nightly basis,” said assistant coach John Stavole after the game. “He spent a year at Northwood University in Florida last year and I thought he had some great coaching down there. His shot has continued to develop and we're excited about the signs he has shown us early on.”

Chahine hit another three to cap a 14-1 run that stretched six minutes and put the Blue Streaks up 31-13 with 8:23 remaining. But the Eagles wouldn't go away – on an emphatic alley-oop from Mike Davis to Josh Guillory, Victory shortened the advantage to a 39-30 lead with just over three minutes left in the half.

John Carroll ended the half on a 10-4 run, however, and took a 49-34 lead into the break.

Meyer led all scorers with nine points at the intermission. The Blue Streaks, who battled inside against a 6'10” Keron Jackson and a 6'8” Jeremy Carr, owned the glass as well, out-rebounding the Eagles 24-14 in the opening 20 minutes.

Fortunately for the Blue Streaks, only one team came out of the locker room. John Carroll put the game away as they opened the second half with outstanding defense. Allowing only three field goals through the first 11 minutes of the half, John Carroll led 66-45 with 9:08 to play.

The three's continued to rain down for Meyer and Chahine. Meyer's 3-pointer with 4:25 left sparked an onslaught of three treys in consecutive possessions up the floor. JCU led 88-57 with 3:53 left to play, and despite a few late buckets from the Eagles transition offense, John Carroll would finish the weekend with two wins in as many days.

“That offense is really clicking,” Stavole said. “Scoring in the 90's every game so far this season has been a great start. I thought our on-the-ball defense was better today than it had been in the first three games as well, and I think that was a big reason why we played so well in the second half.”

The Blue Streaks got 17 from Chahine, 15 points and 5 assists from Corey Shontz and 12 points from Mark Hester. JCU shot 44.6% from the floor and had 17 offensive rebounds.

“I never try to do too much,” said Kyle Hubbard after the game. “When you have guys that big that you're battling with in the paint, you can't force things. I think we have the best shooters in the country and when they get open looks, our offense is really good.” Hubbard finished with three offensive rebounds.

Watching Corey Shontz so far this season has been something pretty special. While he was only credited for five assists this evening, Shontz made a handful of behind-the-back, no-look, and three-quarter-court passes that resembled something you'd see when watching the Harlem Globe-Trotters. For his efforts, Shontz was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Joe Meyer was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

“Corey Shontz is a special player and you better enjoy him because you don't see guys like that come around very often,” Stavole said afterwards. “I've been around a long time and you just don't see guys like him. He throws no-look passes like nobody's business and sees the floor incredibly well. He's just a great player.”