Conventional wisdom dictates that the John Carroll men's basketball team should have expected a let down in the second game of a back-to-back swing at the Land of Magic Classic in Florida.
Instead, the Blue Streaks just kept rolling.
John Carroll jumped out to a 26-5 lead on the way to a 89-68 victory over Bridgewater State in Daytona Beach, Fla.
JCU improves to 11-0 on the season, continuing their best start since the 2004-05 season.
Four Blue Streaks were in double figures, led by junior
Doug Caputo's 18 points and six rebounds.
Simon Kucharewicz recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and
Ryan Farragher and
Antonio Vuyancih each scored 10 for the Blue Streaks.
Off the bench,
John Cirillo tied the team lead with 11 rebounds, adding seven points.
The Blue and Gold roared out to a 17-4 lead just 6:24 into the game. Bridgewater State played a tough final five minutes of the half to keep the lead at 43-22 entering intermission. JCU scored 12 points off turnovers and added 17 bench points in the first half.
The game evened up in the second half, but JCU's offense did not allow the Bears to close the gap. Both teams scored 46 points after halftime, and John Carroll shot 47.6 percent from the floor in the second half to close out the Bears.
Bridgewater State's leading scorer was Ryan Carney with 12. Joseph Carty and Jamir Henderson both added 10. JCU held the slim rebounding margin, 52-50.
JCU is now averaging 96.5 points on 48.9 percent shooting for the season.
The Blue Streaks return home to play Capital University on Monday at 6:00 p.m. as part of a JCU basketball doubleheader.
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