In life, there is nothing like going out a winner.
John Carroll Men's Basketball did just that, exiting the Ohio Athletic Conference as the 2025 OAC Tournament Champions.
In poetic fashion, the Blue Streaks bullied the Purple Raiders down the stretch, finishing with an 82-69 victory over the University of Mount Union in the Tournament Championship at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.
"There is no team I'd rather do this with," said Henry Raynor (6'7''-F), the OAC Tournament MVP. "I love these guys, the staff, the student assistants, the program. It means the world to win it with them."
While Mount Union fired out to a 14-6 start, the Blue Streaks returned fire with a couple nice possessions, including an Aidan Fitzgerald (6'4''-G) triple. Mount Union got a key call heading into a media timeout on a second foul call on Frazier, sinking a pair of free throws after the break to push ahead to 16-13.
Mount Union found some space to work with on offense out of the break, and pushed ahead to by eight points just after the six-minute mark, leading to a JCU timeout. David Gentry (6'6''-PF) soon found a groove, helping JCU trim the margin to four points at the final media timeout, 32-28.
John Carroll continued to scratch and claw, getting to within one point with 1:45 remaining. But the Raiders remained ahead at half by three points, 36-33.
Out of halftime, the Raiders scored five points before the Streaks responded with a Henry Raynor slam and a Frazier pullup. JCU fought further, completing an 8-0 run with another Raynor bucket to tie it at 41. The score stood tied at 43-all heading into the first media timeout of the second half.
John Carroll briefly took the lead thanks to a Yontek free throw, but the Raiders responded with a triple. A 7-0 run capped off by an Aidan Fitzgerald triple led to a Mount Union timeout, with JCU enjoying a 5-point lead, its largest of the day. Raynor continued his takeover, keeping the lead at five heading into the 12-minute media timeout.
A Frazier floater soon increased the lead to seven points and a Gentry shot upped it to eight minutes heading into the halfway mark of the period. The lead increased briefly to double digits with a Topping triple until Mount Union battled back a bit, though JCU still stood ahead, 64-57, with 6:20 left to play.
The situation felt tenuous but the bounces continued to go JCU's way, as the Blue Streaks got a big-time break with 3:45 left to play. All-OAC First Teamer Christian Parker fouled out for Mount Union with JCU ahead 67-60. JCU enlarged the lead to 12 points with authority at the two-minute mark, as Yontek yammed home a dunk off a Toppin assist.
That seemed to be the emotional closer, the Purple Raiders did not threaten from there on.
Henry Raynor led all scorers with 22 points, finishing as the Tournament MVP. Will Yontek (6'7''-F) trailed closely with 21 points, making the All-Tournament Team alongside his fellow Saint Ignatius Wildcat. Luke Frazier joined the two on the All-Tournament squad, tallying 17 points today.
"It feels fantastic," said Yontek. "There is not another group I would want to do it with. Every guy, day in and day out, I love every guy, very unique individuals."
The Blue Streaks are back-to-back OAC Tournament Champions for the first time since 2003 and 2004 when Pete Moran (6'0''-G) was the point guard.
"I get emotional when I think about this family," said Head Coach Pete Moran '08. "I thought about family and sacrifice the other day. Having my brothers on staff with their undoubted loyalty and Coach Woj and Spencer and Bruce. Some of these guys don't collect a paycheck. That resonates with our guys. We have a coaching staff fully committed to the university and these guys. Without them, there is no me. To have their support is special."
Without a doubt, one of the top stories of this team was its seniors.
From December until today, the Blue Streaks changed their game from a run-and-gun onslaught to more of a half-court "bully ball" approach. The Blue Streaks' 8 seniors are a large part of that successful transition into a complete team that can play with anyone.
"The seniors' leadership has been crucial," said Moran. "I want to highlight Luke Chicone (5'11''-PG)'s leadership, too. I told him afterwards that he helped create this culture. I told that to Jerry Higgins, too. The seniors came in extremely motivated this year and never lost the faith."

OAC Final:
John Carroll - Mount Union 82-69

OAC Semifinals:
John Carroll - Muskingum 80-62
Mount Union - Heidelberg 77-66

OAC Quarterfinals:
Heidelberg - Ohio Northern 75-67
Muskingum - Otterbein 71-59

Courtesy of jcusports.com