Editor’s note: This story was written as an assignment for the Working in Sports Media Class

Hot shooting was the headline in the Blue and Gold’s critical, conference victory last Wednesday night as Ryan Berger and Jackson Sartain combined for 58 points in a stellar performance.

Berger and Sartain gave the 600 plus fans at the DeCarlo Varsity Center plenty to cheer about with their unstoppable shot making against their cross-town rivals, Baldwin Wallace. Berger’s quick five point burst at the start of the game was a sign of great things to come for the senior guard. Sartain would follow suit by scoring five points as well in just over a minute.

The two stars for John Carroll seemed to be in sync as they would go back and forth trading scoring outbursts. Sartain would continue to pour it on throughout the duration of the first half by going on an incredible ten point stretch that began at the 7:17 mark and would finally conclude with 5:22 left. Berger capped off his dominance and the first half with six, fast points.

The onslaught would not stop for the rest of the evening and Wallace could not find answer for the Blue Streaks guards. Berger ended his fantastic effort with 29 points on 11 of 15 from the field and five of six from three. Sartain supplemented with 29 points also, as he shot a similar 11 of 14, while making five of his six three-point attempts. Sartain was interviewed after the game on his outstanding sharpshooting. “When I start feeling it, it’s just another feeling, but I have to give credit to the point guards Sean and Jimmy.” It was definitely a night to remember for the Streaks as they would go to take this one against their rivals, 101 to 82.

Both of John Carroll’s leading scorers saw the hoop a little bit bigger than everyone else on the court and that can be attributed to the Blue and Gold’s aggressiveness. From floor general and senior point guard, Sean Flannery playing tenacious defense and finding the open shooters, to Emmett Chambers using his size and strength to control the paint. The team’s hard work led to plentiful amounts of cheering and clapping from the home crowd. Carroll head coach Pete Moran gave tons of praise to his team by saying, “We’re in playoff mode…. Third place in the conference is still up in the air and our guys came in with that type of mindset.”

JCU’s tenacity and urgency led to another monumental win. It catapulted them into fourth place in the OAC with an overall record of 14-7 and a conference record of 8-7. This victory also saw the Blue Streaks defeat Baldwin Wallace for the first time in nearly two years as Wallace had won three straight contests. The blowout win was sort of an anomaly as well due to the fact that more than 50% of their matchups with the Yellow Jackets have been decided by 10 points or fewer. BW desperately needed this game to stay in the mix as well since they already lost to Wilmington previously. Their record now stands at 12-10 overall, while also dropping to 8-7 in the OAC.

In addition to their inadequacy on defense, lackluster offensive production from Baldwin Wallace accredited to their ultimate demise. The team’s second half in particular is what basically nailed the coffin for the Yellow Jackets. 40.5% from the field and 27.8% from three were nowhere near good enough to make a comeback after being down 19 in the first half. Luke Schaefer and Michael Quiring, who are their best scorers could not get into any sort of rhythm. They only mustered a mere 13 points on 5-19 shooting and a pathetic 2-11 from deep.

BW’s two surprises were Drew Sova and Anthony Mazzeo. They both tallied 17 points and put together a total of 15 for 20 from the field and made three of their five three-point shots.

Next tip-off for the Blue Streaks will be at 3:00 p.m. in Ada, Ohio to take on Ohio Northern on Saturday, while Baldwin Wallace looks to get back in the win column against Capital on Friday.