In the first of three consecutive nonconference matchups, the John Carroll University men's basketball team fell short against La Roche College (77-65) on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania..

Home court advantage was apparent from the start of the game. The Blue Streaks would take their only lead of the game after a three pointer by Sean Flannery with 17:02 left in the half. Greg Parella was awarded with the assist.

From there, the Redhawks would increase to their lead as many as 10 points in the first half. As the clock would down, however, Jimmy Berger hit a three ball at the buzzer to cut the La Roche lead to seven (45-38).

The Redhawks would hold on to their lead, but John Carroll did not make it easy. With 14:37 left in regulation and the score 51-44, Flannery would drain yet another three ball and kick off a 10-5 run to put the Blue Streaks within two points of the Redhawks (56-54).

Fitzgerald and Luke Hippler followed Flannery with trips to the free throw line, where they both shot .500. At 11:25, Flannery then sunk another shot from beyond the arc to make the score 55-49. Sartain and Berger would go one to tack on five more points to force a La Roche timeout (56-54).  

When Sartain hit a three ball with 6:53 remaining in regulation, the Blue Streaks wold trail by just two points at 61-59.

John Carroll would manage just six points the rest of the way. La Roche outscored the Blue Streaks 16-6 over the final 6:01 of the contest

Three Blue Streaks finished in the double digits for scoring. Sartain led the team with 21 points, while Flannery and Berger followed with 15 and 13. Sartain and Flannery also shot a combined 8-15 (.533) from beyond the arc.

On defense, Flannery and Berger recorded all six steals for the Blue Streaks.

La Roche was led by Tyler Frederick with 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Zach Gould, who scored eight of the Redhawks' final 16 points, added 16 markers of his own.

With the loss, JCU's record now stands at 5-5 on the season. La Roche improved to 10-2.

John Carroll will next compete against the University of Mary Washington on Saturday, December 29 on day one of the Roanoke Invitational. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m