John Carroll men's basketball rallies past Wheaton with huge second-half run
Dec. 29—When in doubt, turn up the defensive pressure.
That was the MO for the John Carroll men's basketball team with 14 minutes to play in regulation Dec. 29.
The Blue Streaks were facing a second straight loss, trailing Wheaton, 65-54, but a massive 30-8 run the next 10 minutes paved the way to JCU's 96-87 win at the E.M. "Mose" Hole Kiwanis Classic at the College of Wooster.
"I like how they responded," said Coach Pete Moran. "To respond like they did, that's the mark of a good basketball team. We get everyone's best punch and sometimes you've got to weather the storm and get back to what we do, and that's playing the game hard."
It was a rebound-type victory for JCU, which suffered its first loss of the season Dec. 19 to No. 6-ranked Hampden-Sydney, 85-67. JCU improved to 9-1 and will play either host Wooster or Edgewood in the Classic's championship game Dec. 30 at 6 p.m.
A back-and-forth game for about 25 minutes went in Wheaton's favor a little more than five minutes into the second half behind hot shooting from 3-point range. The Thunder were 14 of 31 from beyond the arc for the game, and used that advantage for their 11-point lead with 14 minutes to play.
From that point, the Blue Streaks did more than enough on offense to turn the game to their favor. Defensively, the unit allowed just eight points in a 10-minute stretch, and that's where the game was won.
"I think our pressure wore on them," said Moran. "We got some easy buckets off our pressure. The pressure doesn't always cause turnovers but it takes a team out of their comfort zone."
JCU's two Lukes — Chicone of Mentor and Frazier of Lake Catholic — led the team in scoring, as each had 19 points.
Chicone made two key 3s during his team's 30-8 run. Frazier's jumper in the lane with 4 minutes to play gave JCU an 84-73 advantage.
Two other players — Henry Raynor and Chase Toppin, each with 10 points — scored in double-figures for the Blue Streaks.
The play of the bench produced 30 points, including seven from David Gentry and six each from Luka Eller (Lake Catholic) and Omar Abuhamdeh.
"I think our starters came out a little flat, a little sluggish," said Moran. "We played a lot of guys in the first half, and (the bench) gave us a spark and energy."
JCU has been one of the better rebounding teams in the country and against Wheaton it was no different as it won the battle of the boards, 42-32. Raynor led the way 10 rebounds and Frazier grabbed eight. Will Yontek and Eller each had five boards.
Soren Richardson (28 points) and Nate Sock (23 points) were the leading scorers for Wheaton (2-9).
THE SCORE
John Carroll 96, Wheaton 87
