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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Pete Moran and coaching staff
Sean Finucane
Pete Moran '08 tallied his 100th win as head coach of the Blue Streaks. 
54
Wilmington (OH) WILM 5-5,1-2 OAC
92
Winner John Carroll JCU 8-0,4-0 OAC
Wilmington (OH) WILM
5-5,1-2 OAC
54
Final
92
John Carroll JCU
8-0,4-0 OAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wilmington (OH) WILM 19 35 54
John Carroll JCU 43 49 92

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

#1 Blue Streaks Roll Past Wilmington, Remaining Unbeaten Entering Tuesday's Key Showdown

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – With a top-10 home showdown looming with #6 Hampden-Sydney on Tuesday, you could have called today's Ohio Athletic Conference contest with Wilmington College a "trap game".

Safe to say the Blue Streaks avoided the trap.

John Carroll ousted the Quakers in a dominant conquest at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center, 92-54, in Pete Moran's 100th career victory as head coach.

"It's special," said Moran. "When you've been around this university for 32-33 years, to reach a milestone like this is special. It's a testament to the staff, players, and community. It's been special to do it here at a place I love that's near and dear to my heart."

The Blue Streaks did not take this talented Wilmington team lightly. After all, the Quakers upset #4 Mount Union on December 2 and gave Marietta (receiving votes in the D3hoops.com poll) a good game, too. John Carroll roared out of the gate and did not relent in the program's largest-ever win over the Quakers.

It was truly a team effort for John Carroll with 16 players scoring points for the Blue Streaks today and every player on the roster seeing the court. 

The Blue Streaks knew full well that Wilmington is a fast-starting team, which is how the Quakers upset Mount Union and nearly did the trick against Marietta. John Carroll thus started out plenty hot. The Blue Streaks fired out to a 12-4 lead, upped to double digits with a Jerry Higgins III three-pointer at the 13:51 mark.

"Beyond statistically, the energy having him back in practice has elevated our energy the last few days," Moran said. "It's a long season, so you go through spells, but for him to come in and ramp up the energy in practice, it definitely carried over to the game. We're excited to have him back."

John Carroll continued to play fantastic defense, as the visitors experienced a nearly nine minute stretch without a basket. Wilmington opted to take a timeout after a Luke Chicone triple, as JCU stood ahead, 24-7, with about eight minutes left in the half.

Wilmington got into double digits with a trey at the 5:27 mark, but the Blue Streaks responded quickly with David Gentry and Aidan Fitzgerald layups stretching the margin. A Gentry dunk with four minutes left led to another Wilmington timeout. 

While the visitors found the bottom of the basket some in the later stages of the half, but the Blue Streaks did not allow any slimming of the lead. Luke Frazier scored 5 points in the final 91 seconds, including a late triple, placing the score at 43-19 after the opening stanza.

A couple highlights got the Quaker faithful excited early in the second half, but the Blue Streaks did not relent, scoring in all kinds of ways. A Frazier pullup, Chicone driving layup and triple, a Gentry put-back, and some points at the charity stripe kept the lead above 30. 

At 13:21, David Gentry provided a fun highlight, as the Hudson native hit his first career three-pointer. A Luka Eller dunk followed, bringing more energy to the DeCarlo Center. 

John Carroll's bench got plentiful playing time down the stretch, gaining valuable experience against an OAC foe that's given JCU great games in recent years. 

David Gentry played the lead role with 14 points and 5 rebounds on the day. Luke Frazier (13), Luke Chicone (12), and Henry Raynor (11) all hit double-digits. Three other stats standout: 48 bench points, 46 points in the paint, and 42 points off turnovers.

Higgins' 7 points did not lead the team, but the squad's veteran presence was fantastic to have back on the floor.

"It felt amazing because the last couple of weeks I've been a coach on the sideline," said Higgins. "My teammates have been keeping my spirits up. I've been trying to ease my way back into things and to get out there and play again felt amazing."

The Blue Streaks did a great job overall of staying focused for Wilmington before Tuesday's big showdown.

"Every time we come on the court, we have a mission at hand," said Higgins. "Anybody can lose in this conference to anybody. Our big focus this year is one day, one practice at a time, to make sure we consistently get better. We can't look ahead to Tuesday until we take care of tonight. And to make sure we have fun along the way."

Ahead now is the top-10 matchup that folks have been waiting for. #1 John Carroll will welcome #6 Hampden-Sydney for a 2 pm matchup on Tuesday in the DeCarlo Center. The Blue Streaks need a large crowd for the game against the 8-1 Tigers, fresh off a win over #25 Swarthmore. 

JCU Athletics is offering 50% off tickets for alumni (check your email inbox), 15% off Pizzazz before or after the game with a game ticket, and a special pop-up Tower Time starting at 1:45 pm. 

"We have to come together and protect the house," said Higgins. "This is our first ranked opponent of the year, so we need to come prepared. We'll work on our scout, get after it, and give it our best shot."
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