No. 6 ranked Tigers upend top-ranked Blue Streaks, 85-67

By JOHN KEREZY, eyeoncleveland.com founder (updated and corrected on Dec. 22, 2023)

UNIVERSITY HTS. Dec. 19 — A veteran Hampden-Sydney team ensured that there will be a new team atop the next NCAA Division III men’s basketball rankings by spanking the No. 1-ranked John Caroll Blue Streaks 85-67 at the DeCarlo Varsity Center Tuesday.

In the first half, the game lived up to its billing as a clash between two top-ranked teams. There were seven lead changes, and the game was tied six times in the opening 20 minutes. And for a while in the first half, John Carroll threatened to stake out a big lead. Trailing 18-16 with 8 minutes remaining, the Blue Streaks went on an 11-0 scoring run to go on top 27-18 at the 3:58 mark. Luke Frazier (5 points), Chase Toppin and Luka Eller all sparked the home team to the advantage.

But No. 6-ranked Hampden-Sydney came back. Held scoreless until this point in the contest, Ryan Clements put in a dunk, a lay-up, and two free throws to help spark the Tigers. Then two consecutive three-pointers from Adam Brazil added to the resurgence of the visitors. They went into the locker room at halftime with a 34-31 lead.

With its roster sporting three fifth-year players and six seniors, the more experienced Tigers ran away from John Carroll – literally – with a 51-point second half performance. It’s the most points the Tigers posted in a half of play all season, as evidenced by a scorching 63% (17 of 27) field goal percentage including 56% (5 of 9) shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.

“We really wanted to stay locked in for the whole 40 (minutes). That was a big focus for us,” said Josiah Hardy, one of the Tigers’ starters, after the contest. “And being gritty on both ends of the floor” he added.

Listen to all of Josiah Hardy’s post-game comments here:   

Hardy’s coach Caleb Kimbrough agreed with that assessment.

“Once we found out how they were defending us, we really did a good job of spacing out .. and being able to attack (them with) with our best guys,” he said. “I thought we did a good job of settling down offensively.”

Kimbrough added that he was pleased with his team’s composure against John Carroll’s full court pressure and defense, the Tiger’s 14 offensive rebounds, and the play of Davidson Hubbard and Adam Brazil.

Listen to all of Coach Kimbrough’s post-game comments here: 

The Blue Streaks had no answer to containing Brazil or Hubbard, Hampden-Sydney’s top two scorers. Forward Hubbard poured in a career high of 31 points, combining deadly in-the-paint baskets with a 3-for-9 mark in 3-point land. He added 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals to in 33 minutes of handiwork on the floor.

Guard Brazil added 24 points on 7 of 13 from the field, including 4 threes. He was also 6-6 from the free throw line and added 3 assists. The Tigers were a perfect 10 for 10 from the charity stripe in the contest. He was on the floor for 38 minutes, serving the role of field general for Hampden-Sydney’s offense.

A disappointed John Carroll coach Pete Moran felt his team had its chances.

“We were up at 9 with 2:40 left in the first half. I really feel that it (the Tigers’ comeback) took the wind out of us. It was a heavyweight punch that we took,” he said.

“They (Hampden-Sydney) defend as good as any in the country. They really took us off our spots,” he added. “They are a veteran team, and that makes a big difference at our level, and they are very well coached.

“We picked a bad time to play our worst basketball of the year,” Moran added.

Listen to all of Coach Moran’s comments here: 

On defense, Hampden-Sydney kept John Carroll to 22 points below the 89 points-per-game average the Blue Streaks held coming into the contest. JCU’s 31-point first half was its second worst offensive output of any half so far in the young season.

By the numbers, there are some anomalies comparing the statistics with the final score. Hampden-Sydney had 22 turnovers compared to 17 for John Carroll, and the Blue Streaks scored more points in the paint (42) than did the Tigers (36). John Carroll did better with fast breaks, outscoring their opponents 13-9. But the home team managed only 6 points from its bench players, and it also shot an atypical 63% (13 of 23) from the foul line.

WATCH THIS CONTEST

Bally Sports is rebroadcasting this contest for its Northeast Ohio audience. You can see it on Wednesday, December 20, at 1 pm and 6:30 pm; and Thursday, December 21 at 7 am.  For details, or to sign up, visit https://www.ballysports.com/

Thanks to: John Carroll Sports Information and Hampden-Sydney Athletic Communications for helping with this story.