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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Luke Frazier vs. Marietta on 2-22-24 OAC Semifinal
© 2024 Samuel Herr
The Blue Streaks dominated from start to finish in the home victory.
69
Marietta MAR 17-10,10-8 OAC
88
Winner John Carroll JCU 24-2,17-1 OAC
Marietta MAR
17-10,10-8 OAC
69
Final
88
John Carroll JCU
24-2,17-1 OAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Marietta MAR 30 39 69
John Carroll JCU 47 41 88

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Dylan Feltovich & Jack Stephens, Staff Writers

#3 Blue Streaks Blow Past Marietta into OAC Championship Game

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – An all-around dominant performance from the John Carroll Men's Basketball team paved the way for their first Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship appearance since 2019-20, cruising past Marietta College, 88-69.

"The bitter taste from last year," Chicone answered, when asked about what motivated them about this game. "Obviously last year we were in the same spot, up 20 at half, this year we really wanted to play a clean 40 minutes to punch our ticket."

With this win, John Carroll extends its OAC Tournament record against Marietta to 7-3 all time. 

John Carroll will host the University of Mount Union, the #2 seed, at 2 pm in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center on Saturday afternoon. 

The Blue Streaks began the night on an incredible 14-1 run, thanks to multiple buckets from Luke Chicone. On the defensive end, JCU forced the Pioneers to miss their first eight attempts from the field.

After virtually no offense from Marietta in the first six minutes of the contest, Jake Singleton broke the drought with back-to-back three pointers. This sparked the Marietta to cut their deficit to as little as six. JCU broke off another streak with seven minutes left in the half, going on a 19-8 run to end the half. The offensive explosion included an 11-point effort by Luke Frazier. Finishing the half, John Carroll had a comfortable lead over Marietta, 47-30.

Both Chicone and Frazier ended the half with 14 points each and combined for 10 rebounds, while Chase Toppin facilitated with three assists.

The fast pace of play of JCU ruled the day in the second half, as the Blue Streaks carried their momentum from the first half into the second. A 9-2 run to open the second half of play expanded the lead to 24, which was only the start for John Carroll. After a back-and-forth next couple of minutes, Frazier threw down a thunderous dunk in transition, followed by a three pointer to make the Pioneer deficit 31 points. 

Marietta's three-point shooting began to pick it up late in, making a couple down the stretch, but the comeback was too little too late, as a deep triple from junior Omar Abuhamdeh sealed the deal. John Carroll would cruise to the final buzzer.

The duo Frazier and Chicone were dominant as usual, with 26 and 19 points, respectively. The two also added seven rebounds each. The Blue Streaks also got a significant boost from junior Will Yontek as he added nine points and six boards in 20 minutes. The stifling Blue Streak defense held all Pioneer scorers out of double figures, as three different guys finished with a team-high nine points. 

"We just gotta focus on us," Chicone commented about the upcoming championship game. "If we trust our preparation and the work we put in everyday we should be in a good spot to compete for the title."

This marks time since 2009-10 that the Blue Streaks have defeated the Pioneers three times in the same season. 

John Carroll returns to the hardwood for the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship Saturday at 2 pm, against the rival Mount Union Purple Raiders. 

Tickets are live on the OAC site here. The ticket link will also be sent to season ticket holders on Friday morning. The same system used for the semifinal (signs placed on seats of season ticket holders) will be in place on Saturday. 
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