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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Will Yontek file photo
Sam Herr
Will Yontek notched a career-best 18 points in the win.
108
Winner John Carroll JCU 0-0
90
Albertus Magnus AMC 0-0
Winner
John Carroll JCU
0-0
108
Final
90
Albertus Magnus AMC
0-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
John Carroll JCU 40 68 108
Albertus Magnus AMC 48 42 90

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Aiden Ramsden, Staff Writer

Men's Basketball Starts Campaign with Comeback Fireworks

HARRISBURG, Pa. – After a long wait, John Carroll Men's Basketball has finally returned to action in their season opener against Albertus Magnus in the Penn State Harrisburg Tip Off Classic. 

In a game where the Blue Streaks faced a 19-point deficit in the first half, they managed to battle back and pull away with a 108-90 victory.

The contest was a rematch of a first round 2023 NCAA Tournament showdown between the programs, which JCU won. 

The game started slow with both teams trading missed shots until a layup for the Falcons and two Luke Chicone free throws opened the scoring for each side. From there, the Blue Streaks struggled to get any offense going while Albertus Magnus seemed to have no problems. A Chicone layup to give the Streaks an early 4-2 lead was quickly followed by a 7-0 Falcon run to start their momentum. However, a layup by Henry Raynor halted the run. From there the teams went back to trading possessions but the Falcons quickly gained their momentum back and started to open the lead. Starting at the 13:56 mark and lasting for the next 8 minutes and 26 seconds, the Falcons went on a 27-12 run to set the score at 38-19. In that time, the only John Carroll scoring came from layups and free throws. 

A timeout with five and half minutes remaining in the first half ended up being the turning point in the game. The message was clear, and everyone in the huddle was in agreement, at this point in the game, the Falcons simply wanted it more. Coming out of the huddle, you could tell the tone the Streaks had was different. And a Chicone layup and-one free throw combined with a Raynor tip in and a pair of Aidan Fitzgerald 3-pointers quickly proved that. 

Suddenly, not even two minutes after falling down 19, the Blue and Gold had it back to within single digits. The teams traded buckets until a 6-0 run thanks to layups from Chicone, Chase Toppin, and Will Yontek set the score at 44-40 in favor of the Falcons with less than a minute remaining in the half. With one second remaining, Ray Ford of Albertus Magnus threw up a three, which went in and got a foul on the shot, sending John Carroll into the half trailing 48-40. 

The halftime message from Head Coach Pete Moran was simple, the team has been through battles like this before and it was going to take everyone working together to win this game. 

The Blue Streaks came out firing and a fast break dunk by Luke Frazier just three minutes into the new half gave the Blue Streaks a 56-54 lead, their first since the 17 minute mark of the first half. From there, it was all John Carroll. A 23-5 run which featured many layups and free throws, a Brandon Rose three and two technical fouls being called against the Falcons was capped off by a Frazier triple.

The Falcons struggled to close the deficit with each team going on mini runs, but John Carroll remained in control. The Blue Streaks got their lead to hold at 15 and a third technical foul called against the Falcons sealed the deal in the season opener. 

"Are you shocked? Because I'm not and neither should you be," said senior guard Omar Abuhamdeh when asked about the grit and determination it took as a team to overcome the first-half deficit. 

Luke Chicone led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 15-of-18 from the charity stripe. The 15 free throws are good enough to place him fourth in a game in program history. Chicone also recorded his fourth double-double in a John Carroll uniform, tallying 11 assists and reached the 1,000 point mark in his John Carroll career during the game. 

When asked about what it took to come back from down 19, Chicone said, "This is a team now that's had the core together for three years. We've weathered quite a few storms together so we know that coming back from down 19 is something we can do as long as we do it together." 

Will Yontek poured in an additional 18 points, a career best (he scored 17 vs. Albertus Magnus in 2023). Toppin and Frazier added 12 and 11, respectively. JCU's 38 free throws are tied for third most in a single game in program history and the 51 attempts are tied at fifth. 

"I'm proud of how they responded to a pretty big punch. We're going to get everybody's best punch all year," stated Coach Moran when referencing not just how important a win like that is, but also what it means for the rest of the season. 

Next Up
The Blue Streaks are back in action tomorrow as they face the host team, Penn State Harrisburg. Tip-off is set for 3 pm. 
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