Tonight’s game was a make-up game from an originally scheduled date of January 28, which had to be postponed due to the sudden and unexpected death of Mary Ann Moran – mother of JCU head coach Mike Moran.
Playing without junior All-OAC point guard Pete Moran (undisclosed injury) for the first time this season, the JCU offense struggled in the early going. The Muskies jumped out to a 9-1 lead in which JCU started the game 0-5 from the field. It was not until Derek Smith had a put back at the 14:58 mark that the Blue Streaks recorded a field goal.
After making the first one, the Blue Steaks were able to close to within to 11-7, but the Muskies were able to keep JCU at arm’s length for a majority of the first half. Zach Ross was mainly responsible as he went 4-4 – all from three-point range –during the first 20 minutes. Muskingum at one point held a 28-15 lead before the Blue Streaks made a closing run to cut the deficit to 11 points.
Armed with a 34-23 halftime lead, the Muskies attempted to put some distance between themselves and the Blue Streaks, but a cold start to the second period allowed JCU to climb back into the contest. When Derek Smith completed a conventional three-point play, John Carroll had cut the lead to 38-34 with 12:27 to play.
As quickly as the Blue Streaks climbed in, Muskingum pushed them back down into a 12-point hole. Back-to-back three point plays – one of the traditional variety by Brandon Todd, the other a three-point field goal by Trevor Scott – gave the Muskies a 46-34 advantage with 10:48 showing on the second half clock. The Muskies’ lead would hover between seven and 14 points for the remainder of the contest.
Muskingum (14-6, 10-4 OAC), which made 9-11 from the free throw line in the second half to keep the Streaks from closing in, was paced by a game-high 19 points from Ross. The senior guard was 7-8 from the field, including 5-5 from beyond the arc. Brandon Todd contributed 16 points and a game-high seven assists as the Muskies shot 21-39 (.538) from the field, including 6-10 (.600) from three-point range.
John Carroll (12-9, 8-6 OAC), which dropped its second game in a row, was led by 15 points from Justin Ragor. Also in double figures for the Blue Streaks, who finished the game with a field goal percentage of .347 (17-49), were Jon Franks with 12, and Smith and Chris Day with 11.
This was the first game in which John Carroll was involved that was decided by less than ten points since the Blue Streaks defeated Goshen, 97-89, at the Hope College Russ Devette Classic on December 28, 2005. The 54 points also matched John Carroll’s season low, recorded against Cleveland State on December 22.
Muskingum College vs John Carroll 02/06/06 7:00 pm at University Heights MUSKINGUM COLLEGE 63, JOHN CARROLL 54 MUSKINGUM COLLEGE (14-6, 10-4 OAC) Zach Ross 7-8 0-0 19; Brandon Todd 6-12 4-5 16; Cole Pittis 2-4 4-4 8; Jeremy Ady 2-6 3-5 7; Andrew Chonko 3-3 1-1 7; Trevor Scott 1-4 2-4 5; Mike Seibert 0-1 1-1 1; Jason Dicken 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-39 15-20 63. JOHN CARROLL (12-9, 8-6 OAC) Justin Ragor 4-11 4-5 15; Jon Franks 4-9 4-4 12; Derek Smith 4-8 3-5 11; Chris Day 3-8 5-9 11; Kyle Roggenburk 1-3 0-0 2; Tony DeMichele 1-2 0-0 2; Demetrius Travis 0-5 1-2 1; John Curran 0-2 0-0 0; Joe Kimener 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-49 17-25 54. Muskingum College............. 34 29 - 63 John Carroll.................. 23 31 - 54 3-point goals-Muskingum College 6-10 (Zach Ross 5-5; Trevor Scott 1-2; Jeremy Ady 0-1; Brandon Todd 0-2), John Carroll 3-8 (Justin Ragor 3-6; Chris Day 0-2). Fouled out--Muskingum College-Brandon Todd, John Carroll-None. Rebounds-Muskingum College 31 (Andrew Chonko 8), John Carroll 28 (Derek Smith 6). Assists-Muskingum College 10 (Brandon Todd 7), John Carroll 7(Chris Day 5). Total fouls-Muskingum College 25, John Carroll 22. A-324