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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
2025 OAC Regular Season Men's Basketball Champions
Sean Finucane
84
Muskingum MUSK 13-12,11-7 OAC
90
Winner John Carroll JCU 20-5,15-3 OAC
Muskingum MUSK
13-12,11-7 OAC
84
Final
90
John Carroll JCU
20-5,15-3 OAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Muskingum MUSK 33 43 8 84
John Carroll JCU 31 45 14 90

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

Men's Basketball Wins 3rd OAC Regular Season Title in a Row, Beating Musky in OT

The Blue Streaks' 8 seniors paved the way for a defining victory

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – To win once is amazing. Three times in a row? 

That's a legacy of winning. That is exactly what the eight seniors on the John Carroll Men's Basketball team established during their time in University Heights.

With a thrilling 90-84 overtime victory on Senior Day at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center, the Blue Streaks (15-3 in OAC play) secured the program's third straight Ohio Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship. And this one is not shared, as Mount Union (14-4) lost at home today to finish second in the standings.

"Being proud of this group and coaches is an understatement," said Head Coach Pete Moran. "When your entire life revolves around JCU Basketball and you get to enjoy moments like this with people you unconditionally love, it is extremely powerful. I can't say enough about this locker room and our culture."

The road to a three-peat has not been without its challenges. And as the team will tell you, the journey is far from over, with the OAC Tournament ahead next week. 

In fact on Saturday, the road was bumpy at times. Free throws did not always fall and Muskingum's hustle for rebounds took some of the edge off of JCU's "Bully Ball" mentality. But the Blue Streaks fought hard and came away with the conquest. 

John Carroll held a narrow 14-10 advantage at the first media timeout, aided by a Luke Frazier triple. The Blue Streaks' lead ballooned to 11 points with a Henry Raynor dunk at about the exact midpoint of the first stanza.

Refusing to bow down, the Fighting Muskies hit some threes to get right in the game, and soon tied the game at 25-25 with five minutes left. Muskingum even fired by four at a couple points before settling for a 33-31 lead at the break. 

In the last matchup, JCU roared out of the second half gates and buried Muskingum in New Concord. Not so in the rematch, as evidenced by the opening possession 3-pointer by the visitors. JCU did fire back and tied it at 41 with a Frazier 3-ball, and a thunderous Will Yontek following a Frazier pass. JCU held a tenuous 49-48 advantage at the first media timeout. 

At the midway mark and second media break, things mostly stood the same, with JCU barely ahead, 58-56. But in the next four minutes, the Muskies got going, firing to a 10-4 run to snatch a 4-point lead. Things looked frail for JCU with 2:43 left to go, as JCU took a timeout down 74-69. 

The energy in the gym soon changed coming out of the break. Frazier nailed a trademark triple and Raynor fought for a layup and a tie ball game at 1:44 mark. There the score stood until 27 seconds left, with Frazier brought the crowd to a roaring eruption with his typical mid-range jumper. But Muskingum responded with a clutch make on the following end. A JCU response went for naught, and so overtime began, 76-all. 

With such a senior-laden team, it should come as no surprise that the Blue Streaks came out of the gates hot. A hard-charging Will Yontek got the first points of the period. While Muskingum did respond with a bucket, a traditional 3-point play by Raynor and a pair of Yontek makes stretched the margin rapidly to seven points. The game was not much in doubt the rest of the way, as JCU made its free throws when it mattered to wrap up the win. That allowed Omar Abuhamdeh and George Wilson to get playing time late.

Luke Frazier led all scorers with 30 points, plus 9 rebounds and 7 assists and 4 steals. Will Yontek looked great while fighting in the post for 28 points and 11 rebounds. Henry Raynor tallied a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Chase Toppin, yet another senior, notched 10 points. 

Critically, JCU scored 50 points in the paint to Muskingum's 24, helping to counteract an impressive 13 makes from behind the arc for the visitors. 

Next Up
Interestingly enough, the Fighting Muskies could be JCU's next foe. John Carroll will welcome the winner of #4 seed Muskingum and #5 seed Otterbein in the OAC Tournament Semifinal on Thursday at 7 pm in the DeCarlo Center. 
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