John Carroll continues to bring the defensive intensity. On Jan. 8, the Blue Streaks’ men’s basketball team traveled to Otterbein — a spot that’s traditionally been tough for the program — and held the host team to under 60 points in a 71-59 victory. JCU really showed its defensive prowess in the first half as it built a 37-25 lead at halftime, and held Otterbein to 38.5 shooting from the field (20 of 52). The Blue Streaks won the rebounding battle, 36-32. The win was Coach Pete Moran’s team fifth straight, as it improved to 8-4 and 3-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. “Defensively, we were really solid,” said Moran. “That’s attributed to many factors but ultimately the guys have bought in.” Four players were in double-figure scoring for the Blue Steaks. Luke Frazier (Lake Catholic) led the way with game- and team-highs of 17 points and nine rebounds. Chase Toppin had 16 points and six rebounds, Will Yontek 15 points and six boards and Henry Raynor 14 and six. “Offensively, we did a nice job valuing the basketball,” said Moran, whose team only had five turnovers. “We also shared the ball and had a nice inside/out game working for us.” JCU was 24 of 55 from the floor (43.6 percent) and made seven 3-pointers. Toppin was 4 of 7 from long range, and Frazier 2 of 6. The Blue Streaks were 16 of 21 from the free-throw line. Otterbein (7-5, 2-3 OAC) trailed by as many as 15 three minutes into the second half (42-27). The closest the Cardinals got was 59-51 with five minutes to play but a 3 by Toppin shortly after pushed the lead back double-digits and JCU was on its way to securing the victory. The Blue Streaks’ next game is Jan. 11 at Capital for a 3 p.m. tip. JCU is currently in a stretch of playing five of six games on the road. JCU center flooded with honors Center Matt Wrather capped his football career with the Blue Streaks with a slew of honors. The most recent was Jan. 9, when the stalwart on JCU’s offensive line was named first-team All-America in Division III on the Walter Camp Foundation team. John Carroll’s Matt Wrather won the Division III Rimington Award, given to the nation’s top center. (John Carroll Athletics) On Jan. 6, Wrather won the prestigious 2024 D-III Rimington Award, which goes to the nation’s top center. It’s the first time in program history, the Blue Streaks had a Rimington winner. Wrather was one of several JCU team captains and was a key cog for an offense that averaged 39 points and 425 yards during the team’s 9-3 season that included an NCAA playoff apperance. Other All-America honors for the Olentangy Liberty product include American Football Coaches Association (second team), Associated Press (first team), D3football.com (first team). He’s JCU’s first All-America player to be honored by four organizations since Tom Rini in 1999. Wrather also represented JCU as a member of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team at the Sugar Bowl.