Box Score
The first ever meeting between John Carroll University and Waynesburg University finished in favor of the Blue Streaks. 

JCU tipped off their season with a 78-58 win over the Yellow Jackets at Allegheny College for the Greg Richards Memorial Classic.

Led by a game-high 22 points by Ryan Berger, the Blue and Gold won their third consecutive season opener.

Waynesburg stung the Blue Streaks early on, keeping the game within one point at the 12:44 mark of the first half. Then, Jackson Sartain, John Carroll's record book leader in three-point percentage and single season made three pointers, led a 10-point scoring run. Sartain scored seven of his 19 points during the run in which the Blue and Gold went ahead, 23-12.

"I believe our mindset is to continue to improve on the little things and I believe we have gained some confidence moving forward," Sartain said. "By not losing anybody from last I believe we know each other's strengths and can continue to grow together."

The Yellow Jackets closed out the first half strong as JCU only outscored Waynesburg 19-17 until the break.

The next 19 points for the Blue and Gold sealed the win.

The Blue and Gold came out of the locker room for the second half firing on all cylinders to outscore their opponent 19-5. Meanwhile, JCU went ahead by 27 points, their largest lead of the game.

Sartain scored eight points of the 19 Blue Streaks' points.

"The big scoring run was caused on the defensive end," he said. "I believe we communicated well on defense and played good team defense to convert on the offensive end."

Luke Hippler scored his four points during that time but was more valuable on the defensive end. He had a game-high eight rebounds.

"We've been emphasizing our defense all off-season. We did a great job tonight coming out with a lot of energy," Hippler said. "We had everyone locked in from the tip. We know that playing great defense leads to our great offense."

JCU dominated in four statistical categories, holding the advantage in points off turnovers (27-9), second chance points (16-8), fast break points (20-8), and points in the paint (42-22).

The starting five for JCU went 26-52 (.500) from the field, and the teams as a whole shot 30-64 (.469).

The 58 points allowed in a season opener were the least amount of points scored on the Blue Streaks since the 2013-14 season when they beat Adrian in the same tournament 69-55.

The Blue Streaks return to Allegheny College tomorrow afternoon for a game against Grove City at 3 p.m.