Otterbein OTT 10-8,5-6 OAC

John Carroll JCU 14-4,9-2 OAC

Otterbein OTT

10-8,5-6 OAC

Final

Jan. 29, 2025

John Carroll JCU

14-4,9-2 OAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Otterbein OTT	34	27	61
John Carroll JCU	40	31	71

Summary
Box Score

Sam Herr

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/29/2025 10:42:00 PM | Jack Stephens, Staff Writer

Men's Basketball Battles Past Cardinals in Home Conquest

Will Yontek helped JCU's excellent post play, topping JCU in scoring

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — In a tight contest throughout, John Carroll used a thunderous late run to win their 11st straight game, defeating the Otterbein Cardinals 71-61.

Coming into this contest, John Carroll was one of the hottest teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference, winners of their last 10 and sitting second in the conference with an 8-2 record. The Cardinals sat fifth at 10-7 overall on the year with one of the best offensive scoring duos in the OAC, in Cam Evans and Julian Heckman.

In a physical contest, the Blue Streaks battered the Cardinals down the stretch to win at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Sophomore guard Aidan Fitzgerald broke the ice in the opening second draining a three to put JCU up early. After a Cardinal bucket, the Blue Streaks connected on another three courtesy of Chase Toppin. Both squads went back and forth as Otterbein roaded to a 12-0 run to put them up 16-6 early. The Blue Streaks ended the run off a put back dunk from Henry Raynor, and then a tough jumper from Frazier cut the lead to five into the first media timeout.

John Carroll brought the deficit down to two when Frazier nailed a three and threw down a jam on a fastbreak. Otterbein made a few unforced errors that turned into quick points for the Blue Streaks from Kasey Hunt and Brandon Rose to tie it. Otterbein quickly reclaimed the lead off a Cam Evans triple, until David Gentry converted an and one to knot it up again. JCU really started to find their rhythm inside and out as another three from Fitgerald and a jumper from Will Yontek put the Blue Streaks up six and forced a Cardinal timeout. Both squads traded buckets down the stretch of the half, but the Blue Streaks hung on to a 6-point advantage, leading 40-34.

Frazier had a game-high 12 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in the first half on 5-of-8 shooting. Eight of the nine players who checked in for JCU entered the scorebook, and they also forced 7 Cardinal turnovers. Alex Hannah led all Cardinals with 8 points. The second leading scorer in the conference, Cam Evans, was facing stifling defense all first half, as he was held to just 5 points on 2-of-6 shooting.

Otterbein drew first blood in the second half in a similar way to JCU, off a Julian Heckman 3-pointer. The Blue Streaks quickly responded with a Yontek layup and a Toppin three to give them their largest lead of the evening to that point, 45-37. Otterbein began to chip away at the Blue Streak lead with a couple buckets, forcing a JCU timeout. Otterbein's comeback arrived as its star player Evans began to catch fire, scoring 8 points in the first 6 minutes of the half. With his fourth bucket, the Cardinals took a 50-49 lead. JCU quickly responded off a layup from Gentry.

John Carroll's momentum did not stop there, Gentry and Raynor both connected on layups. Then Hunt made a gritty effort to steal a possession off a 10 second call. On the ensuing possession, Yontek got physical in the post and made a hook layup. The run continued with a tremendous pass from Frazier into Yontek for the layup, to put the Blue Streaks up 59-50. John Carroll scored again off an acrobatic layup through contact from Will Yontek. Otterbein finally put an end to the 7-minute run off two Heckman free throws.

Dominant defense down the stretch and fundamental basketball proved pivotal as the Blue Streaks pulled away and came away victorious, 71-61.

Will Yontek's big second half gave him a game-high 17 points and 5 rebounds. Luke Frazier was doing it all on both ends, tallying 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Gentry had a big night off the bench with 11 points and 3 rebounds. John Carroll shot 53.8% from deep and forced 16 Otterbein turnovers. Four different players hit double figures for the Cardinals in a losing effort, with Evans leading all Cardinals with 13 points.

"We have dominated down low recently," Gentry commented on their offensive focus during their win streak. "Everyone on the team played well, we executed really well, and defended well all night, which led to our win."

Next Up
John Carroll returns to the hardwood on Saturday, as they hit the road to take on the Marietta Pioneers at 4 pm.

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