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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Chase Toppin dunk
Ben Peskar
Chase Toppin had a game-high 14 points, including this dunk in the first half.
52
Otterbein OTT 14-8,8-7 OAC
79
Winner John Carroll JCU 20-2,14-1 OAC
Otterbein OTT
14-8,8-7 OAC
52
Final
79
John Carroll JCU
20-2,14-1 OAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Otterbein OTT 20 32 52
John Carroll JCU 38 41 79

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Paul Raglow-DeFranco, Staff Writer

Blue Streaks Roll Past Otterbein For 12th Straight Victory

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- For the final home game of the regular season, the John Carroll men's basketball team was looking to cement themselves in the record book as they looked to become only the fifth team in program history to go undefeated at home. 

John Carroll certainly looked the part as the number one team in the Ohio Athletic Conference on Wednesday night as they defeated the Otterbein Cardinals 79-52 to increase their win streak to twelve. 

The Blue Streaks set the tone early with some overwhelming defense as they forced six turnovers in the first three minutes of play. The first couple of steals came courtesy of Chase Toppin, the second of which led to a crowd-roaring dunk to put the Blue Streaks up 6-0. A few moments later, Toppin was at it again with another put-back slam to extend the Blue Streak lead to eight. 

"I took it a little personal from my teammates trying to clown me saying I don't have any bounce or anything like that so I had to show them a little bit," said Toppin. 

Toppin finished the game with 14, leading all scorers. As for his defensive efforts, Toppin finished with four rebounds and three steals. 

"I pride myself on defense, I'm trying to be the league's steals leader so I am trying to get that record. With the group that we have that is so offensively savvy, I personally take on that defensive role to lock up the best player and try to get opportunities for our offense." 

Despite John Carroll's performance from three as they went a measly 1-10, they were nearly unstoppable in the paint scoring 24 of their 38 first half points in the paint. The physical basketball continued on the defensive end as well as they recorded six blocks, three courtesy of Henry Raynor. The Blue Streaks went into halftime with a comfortable 38-20 lead.

John Carroll continued its physical play in the second half as they out-rebounded Otterbein 25-19. This effort helped extend the Blue Streak lead to 34, their largest of the night.

Despite ranking sixth in points per game in the OAC, Otterbein was never able to find their groove offensively as they shot just 30% from the field. Cardinals Cam Evans, who leads the OAC with 18.4 points per game, finished with just seven points which all came in the second half.

As the second was coming to a close, some Blue Streak bench players received some valuable playing time. Omar Abuhamdeh wasted no time settling as he cashed in a three with his first shot attempt of the game. Meanwhile, Devin Burgess added a couple baskets to his name as the final seconds were winding down.

The Blue Streaks led from start to finish as they completed the season sweep of the Cardinals with a 79-52 victory.

Up next, John Carroll will travel to Ada, Ohio to take on Ohio Northern University on February 11th at 2:00 P.M. 
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