For the last 24 minutes of the contest, the host Blue Streaks were clearly the happier bunch, bursting away from a 38-38 tie late in the first half to post a convincing 116-96 win over the visiting Pioneers this afternoon at the DeCarlo Varsity Center.
John Carroll immediately went to work, and took a 15-3 in the first four minutes of play thanks in large part to Justin Ragor's three consecutive three-pointers. The Marietta Pioneers, the lone winless team in Ohio Athletic Conference play, did their best to shock the first place Blue Streaks by clawing their way back into the ball game using their "Fun 'N' Gun" style of play.
Behind the dead-eye shooting of Craig Stewart (3-3 from the field, 2-2 from three-point range, 2-2 from the free throw line for ten points in the first half), Marietta would close in on JCU. The Pioneers caught them at 38-38 when Chad Sponseller nailed a jumper with 4:51 to play in the opening half.
John Carroll responded by closing the half on an 11-2 run to take a 49-40 lead at intermission.
The Blue Streaks would destroy any remaining drama in the contest by going on a 16-5 run over the first four minutes of the second half to take a 65-45 lead. JCU did not stop there, pushing its lead up to 29 points on a Chris Day lay-up at the 8:47 mark that made the score 95-66.
John Carroll (12-0, 6-0 OAC), which opened a two-game lead in the Ohio Athletic Conference with the win, had five players in double figures. Brandon Mimes led the way with 20 points, with Michael Grogan close behind with 18 points. Also in double figures were Ragor (career-high 17 points), Kyle Roggenburk (career-high 14 points) and Day (11 points). JCU shot 46-84 (.548) from the field and forced 35 turnovers.
Marietta (2-11, 0-6 OAC) was led by 16 points apiece by Stewart and Matt Hines. Josh Hull scored 15 points and Chris Fulton added 10 for the Pioneers, who outrebounded JCU, 51-45.
This was John Carroll's 13th consecutive win dating back to last year, its 22nd consecutive home victory in regular season conference play, and its 32nd consecutive home victory overall.
Newspaper Box Score Marietta vs John Carroll 01/08/05 3:00 pm at University Hts DeCarlo Varsity Center JOHN CARROLL 116, MARIETTA 96 MARIETTA (2-11, 0-6) Craig Stewart 5-10 2-2 16; Matt Hines 6-7 2-2 16; Josh Hull 6-12 1-5 15; Chris Fulton 4-12 0-0 10; Chad Sponseller 2-13 4-6 9; Matthew Rucker 3-3 3-3 9; Brett Atherton 2-3 0-0 4; Seth Amburgey 1-4 2-2 4; Jason Collier 1-1 0-0 3; Jeff Griffith 1-3 0-0 3; Seth Imhoff 0-2 2-2 2; Kyle Reed 0-3 2-2 2; Matt Starner 1-4 0-0 2; Sam Rutherford 0-3 1-2 1; Eric Lechlitner 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-81 19-26 96. JOHN CARROLL (12-0, 6-0) Brandon Mimes 9-15 2-3 20; Michael Grogan 7-12 4-4 18; Justin Ragor 7-10 0-0 17; Kyle Roggenburk 6-12 2-5 14; Chris Day 4-10 3-4 11; Pete Moran 4-6 1-1 9; Andrew Salata 3-4 2-2 8; Demetrius Travis 3-5 1-6 7; John Curran 1-5 4-4 6; Luke Powers 1-2 0-0 2; Ryan Riggs 1-1 0-0 2; Joe Kimener 0-2 1-4 1. Totals 46-84 21-35 116. Marietta...................... 40 56 - 96 John Carroll.................. 49 67 - 116 3-point goals-Marietta 13-41 (Craig Stewart 4-8; Matt Hines 2-3; Chris Fulton 2-8; Josh Hull 2-5; Chad Sponseller 1-8; Jason Collier 1-1; Jeff Griffith 1-3; Sam Rutherford 0-1; Eric Lechlitner 0-1; Kyle Reed 0-2; Seth Imhoff 0-1), John Carroll 3-7 (Justin Ragor 3-4; Michael Grogan 0-1; Chris Day 0-1; John Curran 0-1). Fouled out--Marietta-Matthew Rucker; Brett Atherton, John Carroll-None. Rebounds-Marietta 51 (Chris Fulton 5; Eric Lechlitner 5), John Carroll 45 (Brandon Mimes 8). Assists-Marietta 10 (Chad Sponseller 3), John Carroll 18 (Demetrius Travis 4; Pete Moran 4). Total fouls-Marietta 29, John Carroll 22. A-1043