It's safe to say that John Carroll ran away from Mount Union tonight. 

In the second top 25 matchup of the season for the Blue Streaks, No. 8 John Carroll cruised to a win over Ohio Athletic Conference rival No. 12 Mount Union. A dominant first half for JCU paved the way for a 96-61 victory in the OAC TV Game of the Week. 

John Carroll's conquest of the Purple Raiders is the largest margin of victory for JCU in the 101-game series history. 

After the opening tip got away from the Purple Raiders, junior Luke Frazier lit up the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center with a thunderous dunk that sparked a 9-2 Blue Streak run in the first four minutes. This early momentum would be carried on as John Carroll began to rain three-pointers, getting two from junior guard Luke Chicone, and one from Chase Toppin and Jerry Higgins III.

The Chicone and Toppin show continued for the Blue Streaks, as they continued to splash from deep, combining for 27 points just 13 minutes into the half. Nothing could go wrong for the team from University Heights, as Frazier joined the three-point party and a couple buckets later, the lead ballooned to 28 points. 

Just as it seemed as the Purple Raiders began to create some momentum offensively, John Carroll answered with tough layups from Frazier and Higgins III. Simple things as inbounding the basketball was difficult for Mount Union as a result of the full court pressure from the Blue Streaks and a loud crowd. 

The combination of their defense and offense gave the Blue Streaks a 58-25 lead at the half. 

Stifling defense from JCU made nothing easy for the Purple Raiders as they shot just 27.8% from the field in the first half, compared to the Blue Streaks 58%. Frazier led the way offensively for the Blue Streaks with 18 points. Toppin and Chicone also contributed in a huge way with 15 and 12 points respectively. Graduate Student Collen Gurley pushed the Purple Raiders offensively with seven points, while their leading scorer on the season, senior forward Christian Parker, to three points on 1-6 shooting. 

The 58-point first half total was the highest opening output of the season so far for JCU, while Mount Union was held to their lowest first-half total of the season. 

Both teams opened the second half struggling to get anything going offensively. The turnovers for the Purple Raiders continued to pile up and JCU continued to take advantage going on a 16-4 run to open the half. The Blue Streaks' momentum could not be slowed down no matter what Mount Union tried to do to stop it. Shots began to drop for the Purple Raiders as they strung together a 12-2 run, their largest of the game. 

However, the Blue Streaks did not panic, as Chicone hit a layup and a pair of free-throws to end the threat. Both teams traded buckets down the stretch but any late push for a comeback from Mount Union would be too little too late. John Carroll won by their largest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry between the two schools, with the 35-point victory. 

"I think we definitely made a statement to the rest of the OAC with this win," Chicone commented after the game. "Obviously the job is not finished and we have more work to do but this game definitely gives us a boost the rest of the way."

Toppin led all scorers with 21 points, while adding six rebounds and two steals. The Blue Streaks also got three other players scoring in the double figures, Frazier (18), Chicone (17) and Higgins III (10). Gurley finished with 10 points as the Purple Raiders' only double-digit scorer on the night. 

John Carroll shot a whopping 52.1% from the field, including 11-of-22 from behind the arc (9-of-17 in the first half). JCU also dominated in the paint, 48-30.

John Carroll hits the road Saturday afternoon to take on the Marietta Pioneers at 2 pm, looking for their sixth straight win against another strong conference rival.