It seems as if the John Carroll University men's basketball team has found their stride. At least in the scoring department.
A high scoring opening half propelled the Blue Streaks to a 116-88 win in their first ever meeting against Keene State (New Hampshire).
The 116 points is the most John Carroll has scored in a game this season and the 28-point differential is the largest margin of victory. The 116-point output is also the third highest in the history of the Great Lakes Invitational.
Non-conference play has been JCU's bread-and-butter this year as they close out 2019 and play outside of the Ohio Athletic Conference an undefeated 7-0. That win total matches the Blue Streaks' 2015-16 total, the last time they did not lose a game in the regular season out of the OAC.
The Blue Streaks started fast building a 9-2 lead less than three minutes into the game. From there, the Owls never cut it within a one possession ball game. The closest they came within the lead was 11-7 at the 15:49 mark of the first half.
Over the final six minutes before the break, JCU outscored the opposition 21-11. Their 59-39 lead at half was the largest all season and most points scored in the first half of a game since they scored 63 against La Roche on Dec. 19, 2017.
The Blue and Gold closed out the first stanza on a 12-5 run.
In the second half, it was all Blue Streaks. Keene State's smallest deficit was just 19 points. Meanwhile, JCU led by as much as 31 points, going up 94-63 in the ninth minute.
JCU received stellar performances by
Sean Flannery and
Jackson Sartain in the largest win of the season. Flannery notched a career high 11 assists and Sartain matched a career-high 30 points.
Jimmy Berger,
Connor Fitzgerald, and
Emmett Chambers supplemented with 14, 13, and 12 points, respectively.
JCU led in multiple categories: points off turnovers (24-11), total rebounds (43-32), assists (29-17), steals (11-3), and fast break points (14-3), while shooting 56.3% from the field.
The Blue Streaks completed its first appearance in the Great Lakes Invitational with a 2-0 record. JCU beat Whitworth, 95-89, on Saturday.
John Carroll will be back at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center on Jan. 4 to play Ohio Northern as it resumes OAC play.
