Blue Streaks delighted to start tourney at home

Home games have been sweet this season for the John Carroll men’s basketball team.

The Blue Streaks are 13-0 at DeCarlo Varsity Center, including a 94-77 victory over Ohio Northern on Feb. 24 in the championship game of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament.

That latest win brought with it an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

When the field of 64 teams was announced on Feb. 26, senior guard Matt Csuhran and first-year JCU coach Pete Moran were delighted to learn the Blue Streaks would host first-round and second-round games on their home floor.

JCU will face Thomas More College in the second of the first-round games on March 2. Wooster and Illinois Wesleyan square off in the opener at 5:30 p.m. The winners advance to the second-round game on March 3. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

“Obviously, we’re amped to be in the (NCAA) tournament and playing in our gym. It’s great for us and our fans,” said Csuhran, JCU’s leading scorer at 17.3 points per game.

The Blue Streaks finished the regular season at 23-5 overall and 14-4 in the OAC. Marietta had the same record in the conference, but the title went to JCU because the Blue Streaks won both regularseason games.

Moran is having a banner first season after succeeding his father, Mike Moran.

The younger Moran,

honored as OAC Coach of the Year prior to the conference tournament, is no stranger to college basketball’s showcase event.

As a JCU player, he was starting point guard when the Blue Streaks appeared in the 2004, 2005 and 2007 NCAA tournaments. In 2016, he was an assistant coach when the Blue Streaks won a first-round game against St. Vincent (Pa.) College at DeCarlo Varsity Center before losing in the second round to Alma (Mich.) College.

“In the NCAA tournament, the best teams don’t always win,” Moran said. “It’s the team playing the best basketball that wins and moves on. One bad night and you’re out.”

Based on recent form, the visitors from the Catholic liberal arts school in Kentucky will be a tough foe in the first round.

The Saints, 23-5 overall, have won 17 of their last 18 games. They were regularseason champions in the

President’s Athletic Conference with a 16-2 mark and claimed the conference tournament title on Feb. 24 with a 78-73 win over Bethany.

“They’re not big, but they execute their offense and play strong help-side defense,” Csuhran said.

The Saints are led by 5-foot-10 senior guard Damian King. The 2018 PAC Player of the Year comes in averaging 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Thomas More’s Drew Cooper earned PAC Coach of the Year honors.

“This is a veteran group that knows how to win,” Moran said of the Saints.

John Carroll comes into the NCAA tournament in fine form.

The Blue Streaks have a potent offense (99.2 points- per-game) featuring double-figure scorers in Csuhran, senior guard Tony Vuyancih (13.9 points, sophomore forward Ryan Berger (13.4 points), senor forward John Cirillo (11.7 points) and freshman

guard Jackson Sartain (10.8 points).

Csuhran said he and his teammates also take pride in being able to throttle opponents with defense.

“It’s a mentality of being physical all over the floor and gang rebounding,” Csuhran said. “When we play great defense, we don’t think anyone can stay with us.”

Wooster (21-6) finished second to Wittenberg in the North Coast Athletic Conference regular-season race and was beaten by Ohio Wesleyan in the NCAC tournament semifinals. The Fighting Scots are coached by Steve Moore, whose 734-173 record in 30 seasons is the second-best in Division III history.

Illinois Wesleyan (19-7) finished the regular season tied for first place with Augustana in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. The Titans were beaten by North Central in the semifinals of the CCIW tournament.