The Blue Streaks (4-0), who reached the Final Four and finished third in the nation a year ago, used a 14-2 spurt to open up a 22-10 advantage with 11:28 to play in the opening half. Three straight Allegheny buckets brought the Gators within 22-16 and AC kept within 10 until late in the half. Six consecutive points by John Carroll late in the half helped the Blue Streaks carry a 38-27 lead into the halftime locker room. Despite shooting a respectable 41 percent (11-27) in the opening half, Allegheny was hurt by 15 turnovers, which led to 18 Blue Streak points.
It looked like John Carroll would continue to take control early in the second half, as their lead grew to 50-36 with 16:35 to play. But Allegheny scored on its next four possessions to climb back into the contest. Senior forward Chase McKim started the run with a lay-up and then three straight three-pointers by McKim, sophomore guard Casey McCloskey and freshman Bill Babe cut the Blue Streak lead to just 50-47 at the 14:29 mark.
Allegheny even had two chances to get closer on its next possession but junior forward Matt Majzlik missed a lay-up and McCloskey was off the mark with a triple that could have tied the score.
After that, John Carroll seized control. A 16-3 run over the next four-plus minutes swelled the visitors’ lead to 66-50 and Allegheny wasn’t able to get closer than 14 points the rest of the way. One key to the big second half was JCU’s ability to get inside in the second half, particularly after Majzlik fouled out with 8:34 to play. Of the 57 John Carroll points in the second half, 40 came in the paint. In all, the Blue Streaks scored 70 in the paint for the game.
Allegheny finished the game shooting 40 percent (27-67) but struggled from the arc and foul line. The three treys that the Gators hit in their early second-half run were their only threes of the game, as AC went 3-24 from the arc. Allegheny also went just 14-26 from the free throw line in the game, while John Carroll swished 16 of 21 attempts from the charity stripe.
The lone Gator in double figures was McCloskey, who netted 21 points and handed out four assists. Majzlik tallied eight points, five rebounds and two assists to earn All-Tournament team honors. McKim and freshman forward Ben Torsney each finished with nine markers, with Torsney adding six boards and two blocks to his stat line.
John Carroll had five players reach double digits, led by forwards Chris Day and Brandon Mimes with 17 each. Mimes also grabbed 13 boards as he earned All-Tournament team honors as well. The MVP of the Classic was guard Mike Grogan, who compiled 15 points and four steals.
Third place in the Classic went to Hiram (Ohio) College who defeated Penn State-DuBois 74-42. Hiram’s DaJuan Whiteside and PSU-DuBois’ Brenton Decker were each named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts over the weekend.
Allegheny returns to action Dec. 1 when it travels to Alfred (N.Y.) University for a 7 p.m. tip-off. It will be the final tune-up before NCAC play begins for AC, who travel to Wittenberg (Ohio) University Saturday in the league opener.
John Carroll University vs Allegheny College 11-28-04 3:00 pm at Meadville, Pa. (David V. Wise Center) At Meadville, Pa. (David V. Wise Center) JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY 95, ALLEGHENY COLLEGE 71 JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY (4-0) Chris Day 8-10 0-0 17; Brandon Mimes 6-11 5-6 17; Mike Grogan 6-13 3-3 15; Peter Koch 5-7 1-2 11; Pete Moran 4-7 2-2 10; Drew Salata 4-11 0-0 8; Demetrius Travis 2-2 1-1 5; Justin Ragor 1-3 1-1 3; Kyle Roggenburk 1-2 1-2 3; Brandon Neal 1-1 1-2 3; John Curran 1-3 0-0 2; Chris Jula 0-0 1-2 1; Ryan Riggs 0-0 0-0 0; Luke Powers 0-0 0-0 0; Rory O'Neil 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 39-73 16-21 95. ALLEGHENY COLLEGE (2-2) Casey McCloskey 8-16 4-6 21; Chase McKim 4-10 0-0 9; Ben Torsney 4-6 1-2 9; Matt Majzlik 3-9 2-4 8; Bill Babe 1-4 4-6 7; Justin Schmitt 3-6 1-4 7; Sean Brakey 1-2 1-2 3; Alex Alper 1-4 0-0 2; Larry Sharp 1-3 0-0 2; Quinn O'Brien 1-1 0-0 2; Mike Sefscik 0-1 1-2 1; Brian Schulz 0-3 0-0 0; Will Ness 0-0 0-0 0; Greg Richards 0-1 0-0 0; Pat Brannigan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-67 14-26 71. John Carroll University....... 38 57 - 95 Allegheny College............. 27 44 - 71 3-point goals-John Carroll University 1-9 (Chris Day 1-2; Mike Grogan 0-4; Peter Koch 0-1; Justin Ragor 0-1; John Curran 0-1), Allegheny College 3-24 (Chase McKim 1-7; Bill Babe 1-4; Casey McCloskey 1-3; Justin Schmitt 0-1; Alex Alper 0-2; Larry Sharp 0-1; Mike Sefscik 0-1; Brian Schulz 0-3; Greg Richards 0-1; Pat Brannigan 0-1). Fouled out--John Carroll University-None, Allegheny College-Matt Majzlik. Rebounds-John Carroll University 42 (Brandon Mimes 13), Allegheny College 39 (Ben Torsney 6; Justin Schmitt 6). Assists-John Carroll University 10 (Peter Koch 2; John Curran 2), Allegheny College 10 (Casey McCloskey 4). Total fouls-John Carroll University 24, Allegheny College 19. A-150 Championship game of National City Tipoff Tournament Brenton Decker (PSD), DaJaun Whiteside (HIR), Matt Majzlik (ALL), Brandon Mimes (JCU) named All-Tournament, Mike Grogan (JCU) named Tournament MVP.