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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Omar Abuhamdeh vs. ONU at home
Sam Herr
The Blue Streaks enjoyed being back at front of the DeCarlo Center.
65
Ohio Northern ONU 3-3,0-1 OAC
89
Winner John Carroll JCU 6-0,2-0 OAC
Ohio Northern ONU
3-3,0-1 OAC
65
Final
89
John Carroll JCU
6-0,2-0 OAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ohio Northern ONU 27 38 65
John Carroll JCU 47 42 89

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Gianluca DiGiacomo, Staff Writer

Successful Home Opener: Men's Basketball Kicks Off Home Slate with ONU Win

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS -- Coming off of a very strong overtime win over Baldwin Wallace in Berea, the Blue Streaks were hungry to keep it moving, as their foes from Ada were prepared for a battle, looking to improve upon their stellar 3-2 record.

John Carroll rolled to a fantastic win in front of a great home crowd, earning an 89-65 conquest in the home opener at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center. John Carroll is now 20-4 in home openers since 2000, and 5-2 in home debuts under Head Coach Pete Moran '08. 

The Blue Streaks won the tip, and the game was underway. Luke Chicone set the tone off an inbound—knocking down a three-pointer at the top of the key. This would be the first movement of his 23-point outing at the DeCarlo Center. Off of a missed shot, Will Yontek would immediately be on the putback. The Polar Bears would respond with a three pointer, but Luke Frazier would nail one right back. John Carroll was in business, rallying with a prompt 8-3 lead.

John Carroll would continue to build momentum, with Chase Toppin hitting a nice and-one to get the crowd going. The Blue Streaks would remain consistent in their offensive, while Ohio Northern would knock down a handful of three-pointers to look to hold on.

JCU proceeded to get some big defensive plays on the opposite side of the court, and Chase Toppin would knock in another contested and-1 to keep things rolling. After a great cut and find with a Raynor-Chicone connection, the Polar Bears would call a timeout, with a 25-14 scoreline in favor of the Blue Streaks.

With 5:44 left, a huge block from Henry Raynor and a five-second violation would lead the Blue Streaks with a quick transition, and Will Yontek would find Brandon Rose on the right hand flank for a three-pointer to put the Blue Streaks up by 17 points.

Through the first fifteen minutes, the Blue Streaks were off to a hot start, shooting 15-of-26 from the field (64%). Straight from the timeout, John Carroll would keep their momentum streak, with a brilliant up-and-under finish down low from Luke Frazier and a long-range three from Luke Chicone in back-to-back offensive stints.

John Carroll would keep their lead in the late teens range and an impressive and-1 play from Polar Bear guard Mason Studer with a fadeaway jumper from the free throw line would give them some steam, but certainly temporary, as John Carroll would once again respond with a big-time play of their own. Luke Chicone received a pass in motion at the top of the three-point line to drain an off-balance jumper with the contact.

Through the first half, the Blue Streaks enjoyed a commanding 47-27 going into the break. JCU held a comfortable advantage over the Polar Bears in the statistical side of the contest, shooting a whopping 56% from beyond the arc, and 63% from the floor compared to the Polar Bears' 33% field goal percentage. Point guard Luke Chicone stood as the leading the charge offensive, scoring 15 points and assisting three more buckets. Chase Toppin and Luka Eller were right behind with nine and eight points, respectively.

John Carroll would start the second half strong with a finish from inside the paint. Despite a stellar lead, the Blue Streaks continued a persevering full-court press. Brandon Rose would get going early in the second half, splitting his free throws on a trip to the line and a hitting floater from the baseline.

Later down the line, John Carroll would have a huge burst of energy, with Luke Chicone hitting back-to-back buckets to get the crowd going, as the Blue Streaks increased their lead to 22 on the evening.

Slowly and methodically, John Carroll would increase their lead, digging a deeper hole for the visitors as Omar Abuhamdeh got his hands dirty with a corner three to raise their lead to 27 with 11:11 to go in the contest. This would be quickly followed up with as Luke Frazier would lay down the hammer to bring it up to 29.

Things just kept on getting better for the Blue Streaks as another three-pointer would bring John Carroll to the 30-point lead milestone.

With the Blue Streaks pulling away early in the second half, it was a more lighthearted remainder to this contest, and John Carroll would finish the game with a strong 89-65 victory in their first home OAC victory of the season. 

An absolutely astonishing night on the offensive end of things for the Blue Streaks, as they finished their contest with an incredible 59.6% total field goal percentage, and an obscene 57.1% conversion beyond the three-point line. The Blue Streaks would also win the duel on the boards with a 32-23 differential, and managed to hold their lead for the entire 40 minutes of the game. 

The Blue Streaks advance to 5-0 on the season after their first home contest of the season, continuing to prove themselves as the #3 team in the entire country. 

"We take real pride in winning at home," said junior guard Omar Abuhamdeh. "This team really is a family. I know it's a little cliche to say, but we really are one family…A win like this sets the theme and the tone for the rest of the season, especially when it comes to the OAC."

John Carroll will be back in action a week from today, as the Blue Streaks will travel to New Concord for their first of two battles against Muskingum University, tipoff at 2:00 p.m.
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