UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- After just three weeks of practice, the John Carroll University Men's Basketball team faced off against Heidelberg University in their first game back and suffered a 69-53 loss at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.
 
"We're in this together," said Head Coach Pete Moran after the game. "I told the guys to give me their best effort and we will make mistakes throughout this process."
 
The Blue Streaks fall to 0-1 on the season and will travel to Tiffin, Ohio, to take on the Student Princes again tomorrow night with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
 
In the first half, the Student Princes and Blue Streaks played a tight brand of basketball with both teams putting forth full effort.
 
Throughout the first 20 minutes, both teams swapped leads periodically. At the 10:00 minute mark of the first half, JCU had a slight 15-13 lead over Heidelberg courtesy of junior Mason Trubisky and sophomore Eric Hanna.
 
That was the last time JCU held a lead during the game.
 
Hanna led the Blue Streaks scoring in the first half with two three-pointers. Trubisky followed him with five points.
 
In the first half, John Carroll and Heidelberg both grabbed 20 rebounds contributing to the close game.
 
At halftime, the score remained fairly close with Heidelberg holding a five-point (32-27) lead over the Blue Streaks.
 
To begin the first half, Heidelberg played lights out on offense. Right out of the gate, Heidelberg put up a 10-point run that left JCU down 42-27 with 15:55 left to play.
 
One of the main contributors to Heidelberg's offense was Alex Arrellano, who hit five shots from outside of the arc, contributing to 15 of Heidelberg's 37 total points from the half.
 
The Blue Streaks struggled offensively to generate points and keep up with the fast-scoring Heidelberg offense. John Carroll put up 26 points in the second half compared to Heidelberg's 37.
 
John Carroll played 14 members of their squad, which included many underclassmen.
 
Freshman Connor O'Toole saw 19 minutes of action, adding three assists, a three-point basket and one rebound to the stat book in his collegiate debut. Fellow first-year player Griffin Hanna scored four points in six minutes of action.
 
"There are positives to take away from this experience," exclaimed Moran. "It was Connor [O'Toole] and E.J. [Buckner Jr.] first time playing collegiate basketball and it was eye opening for them."
 
Moran believes this year's freshmen class will be a staple in the upcoming years, leading the Blue Streaks to wins.
 
"They are competitors, winners and they will be there and be staples of our program for the next four years," said Moran. "We will win championships with those guys."
 
The Blue Streaks offense was anchored by Hanna with 11 points followed by Trubisky with eight points. Senior Emil Hess led the Blue Streaks with eight rebounds; junior Emmett Chambers added seven boards.