Box Score Armed with stifling defense, stellar rebounding, and 10 blocked shots, the John Carroll University men's basketball team hopped its way to a 14-point victory in the championship of the Rhodes College Crowne Plaza Holiday Tournament on Sunday afternoon in Memphis, Tenn.

The Blue and Gold took control and never trailed against the Austin College 'Roos taking the 90-76 win to improve to 8-2 on the season.
JCU utilized stifling defense holding Austin College to 32.2 percent shooting from the floor, the second-lowest shooting percentage by an opponent this season.

Additionally, the Blue and Gold took control on the glass to finish with an eight rebound advantage. Individually, Simon Kucharewicz had a monster game on the glass with 15 rebounds to mark the second time in the past three games the sophomore has had 15 or more rebounds.

Jordan Murphy and Jake Hollinger added strong rebounding performances as the two starting forwards combined to match Kucharewicz's 15 rebounds.

As a team, the Blue Streaks blocked 10 'Roo shots, led by Hollinger's four and Kucharewicz's three. The last time JCU blocked 10 shots in a game came nine years ago to the day as the Blue and Gold swatted 10 shots versus Adrian College on Dec. 29, 2004.

Leading the charge offensively was Hollinger who proved to be no match for Austin College's interior defenders.

The junior had his way in the post in all aspects of the game. In addition to his eight rebounds and four blocked shots, Hollinger was near-perfect on the day. Hollinger scored a career-high 25 points and went 9-for-10 from the field and 7-for-8 at the free throw line.

"Jake played great all weekend," said head coach Mike Moran. "He's an unbelievable athlete and his shot blocking can change a game."

Austin College's Jimmy King buried a 3-pointer with 15:09 remaining in the game to pull the 'Roos within three but a Hollinger layup with 11 minutes left put John Carroll's lead back in double digits.

Two other Blue Streak starters joined Hollinger in double figures. David Hendrickson added 17 points while Danny Wallack chipped in with 11. Kucharewicz, Doug Caputo and Joey Vuyancih each scored eight.

The men's basketball team will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 4 when it heads to Muskingum for a 3 p.m. contest. Fans can also follow the rest of the team's trip on the men's basketball Twitter account and see a recap of their travels each day on www.jcusports.com.