Series of runs propel Blue Streaks past visiting Pioneers 97-76
Four Marietta players finish in double figures

Jan. 21, 2006
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio - The Marietta College men's basketball team was able to build an early lead, but John Carroll stole the momentum with a late first-half run and sailed to a 97-76 victory Saturday (Jan 21).

The victory improved John Carroll's record to 11-6 overall and 7-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while Marietta remained winless in the league after 10 games and fell to 3-14 on the year.

The Blue Streaks held a 7-3 lead after the opening minutes, but a Steve Luckhardt jumper sparked a 13-2 run for Marietta to give them a 16-9 advantage. The first nine of those points were scored by the freshman Luckhardt.

Marietta was up eight points, 39-31, with 4:31 to go in the half, but John Carroll closed the first period on a 17-5 run to take a 48-44 lead into the break.

The final minutes of the first half foreshadowed what was to come in the second period. Marietta, who shot 15-of-26 (.577) from the field in the first half, finished just 8-of-28 (.286) from the floor in the second half.

The Pioneers hit only one basket in the first 3:44 of the frame, allowing the Streaks to extend their lead to 14 points. A lay-up by junior Matt Rucker cut JCU's lead to eight points, 63-55 at the 14:25 mark. Two free throws by Demetrius Travis brought the lead back up to 10 points and Marietta was never able to get the deficit back under double figures the rest of the way.

John Carroll dominated the boards Saturday, out rebounding Marietta 50-30, including 23-8 on the offensive end. As a team, the Pioneers finished 23-of-54 (.426) from the field, including 12-of-25 (.480) from long range. MC connected on 18-of-27 (.667) from the line and committed 21 turnovers. The Blue Streaks shot 36-of-76 (.474) from floor, hit 8-of-19 (.421) from deep and 17-of-25 (.680) from the line.

Craig Stewart came off the bench to hit 5-of-8 from long range and finish with a team-high 16 points, while freshmen Steve Luckhardt and Isaiah Creasap each added 12 points and sophomore Matt Phillips finished with 11.

Pete Moran paced the way for John Carroll, finishing with 26 points, eight assists and five steals to help his father Mike Moran earn his 250th victory. Chris Day added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Kyle Roggenburk and Travis each had 12 points and Jon Franks finished with 10.

Marietta will return to action Wednesday (Jan. 25) when it travels to Alliance to take on Mount Union at 7:30 p.m. The Purple Raiders (5-12, 4-6 OAC) will be looking to bounce back from a 77-68 loss to Heidelberg Saturday.

Sophomore Craig Stewart had 16 points against John Carroll

Box Score