John Carroll JCU 15-5,10-3 OAC

Mount Union MTU 13-7,10-3 OAC

John Carroll JCU

15-5,10-3 OAC

Final

Feb. 05, 2025

Mount Union MTU

13-7,10-3 OAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
John Carroll JCU	36	41	77
Mount Union MTU	46	26	72

Summary
Box Score

Jose Figueroa

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/5/2025 10:50:00 PM | Aiden Ramsden, Staff Writer

Raynor's Career Day Steers Men's Basketball to Huge Win at Mount Union

The Blue Streaks are now tied for first in the OAC standings after Raynor's legacy game

ALLIANCE – For the third time this season, the Blue Streaks found themselves in a matchup with the first place team in the Ohio Athletic Conference, this time it was with the Mount Union Purple Raiders.

A second-half comeback helped pave the way to a crucial 77-72 Blue Streak victory.

This year's conference opener for both teams was against each other in University Heights back in December. The Blue Streaks, who were in the midst of a tough losing streak, dropped the game. This time around the message was simple: That wasn't going to happen again. Henry Raynor's 37-point, 16-rebound day made sure of that.

"This win was huge for us going down the stretch to achieve the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season," Raynor said. "I'm so proud to be a part of this team."

The Raiders won the tip, but a quick missed shot and a rebound by Luke Frazier led to a Henry Raynor layup, his first of many. A layup and one by Will Yontek helped get the Blue Streaks an early 7-0 lead. Mount Union finally got on the board with a three, but Raynor responded with a 6-0 run himself to extend the lead to eight. David Gentry responded to back-to-back Raider scores with some layups of his own to push the lead to 10. Then, Mount Union got going.

The Purple Raiders began to quickly close the gap and before you knew it, a pair of threes gave Mount their first lead of the game with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half. After obtaining the lead, Mount Union followed that with a 14-3 run to land a double-digit lead. Raynor ended the run with a pair of free throws but the Raiders did not flinch, continuing to play with pace. Another pair of Raynor layups cut the deficit to 7 but a Mount Union three set the halftime score at 46-36 in favor of the home team.

In a rare occurrence, the Blue Streaks only managed to get off one three in the first 20 minutes of play, missing the lone shot. However, Henry Raynor managed to score 20 first-half points, helping make the lack of attempts from deep not matter so much.

A fired-up halftime speech from the coaching staff clearly got John Carroll going, as the team came out with a seemingly different tone to start the new half.

The second half started as a defensive battle, with no team scoring until a Mount Union triple pushed the lead to a game-high 13 about 90 seconds into the half. Two layups by Raynor and Frazier, including an additional free throw, cut the lead to six and gave the Blue & Gold the momentum they needed. Another pair of Frazier layups with a Yontek and one opportunity closed out a 14-0 John Carroll run, giving JCU the lead back with 14 minutes to play.

The teams then got into a pattern of exchanging scores with Raynor doing most of the work down low. Aidan Fitzgerald connected on a three, the team's first and only of the game, to push the lead to six. Mount Union's Christian Parker began to contribute in huge ways, helping cut down the lead and even giving his team a lead, but yet again it was Raynor responding to help keep his Streaks in control. Raynor's 37th point of the game gave the Blue Streaks a 5-point lead with two minutes to play. A layup by Chase Toppin would push that to seven with a minute remaining, and after a timeout was called, the fans began to make their ways towards the exit signs.

However, that would not be the end. Mount Union did the typical strategy of following when trailing late and a couple of missed opportunities at the free throw line by the Blue Streaks opened the door and helped cut their lead to just four. Thankfully, nothing came of that, and John Carroll got back on the bus to University Heights with possession of first place in the OAC (based on the tiebreaker of record against next-best team in the standings).

The player of the game was clearly the big man Henry Raynor, who went for a 37-point, 16-rebound double-double thanks to an insane shooting line of 15-of-17 from the field as well as a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line.

"I'm really proud of this group for how we stepped up in the second half," Raynor said. "We came into half down 10 and knew we had to lock in on the defensive end. Credit to our guards and bigs for recognizing when I was open in the post and getting the ball down low. We have a super selfless team and on any night anyone on the court can step up and that's what makes this group so special."

"I am definitely going to tell my kids about tonight," said junior Kasey Hunt when talking about Raynor's performance.

Raynor's 37 points is the most by a Blue Streak since Jackson Sartain's record-setting 55-point performance back in 2021.

"Wars are never won with ease, but tonight, we possessed the best weapon, Henry Raynor," said fellow big and Saint Ignatius grad Will Yontek. "His performance transcended the ordinary, a masterclass of skill and will. While this victory was a testament to the entire team, there is no denying it: Tonight, Henry was nothing short of extraordinary."

Tonight's victory marked the first time since the 2013-14 season that the Blue Streaks won in Alliance while dropping the matchup in University Heights.

"This is obviously a huge win, not just for the OAC standings but our overall standing in the NCAA," said head coach Pete Moran. "I never try to point the finger or single someone out, but it's hard to do that when you have a player like Henry Raynor go out and score 37 points on the way to a crucial victory."

Up Next
The Blue Streaks travel to Wilmington this Saturday for a matchup with the Quakers. Tip-off is set for 3 pm.

Print Friendly Version