“Matt was everything you hope for when you bring someone into your program,” said JCU men’s basketball head coach Mike Moran. “When we recruited him, we knew right away the kind of impact that he would make not only as a player but as a person. He worked hard, had the right attitude, and was an excellent representative of his family, his community, his school and his team.”

Matt Crozier, a third-year student and member of the John Carroll men’s basketball team, passed away Wednesday morning due to severe head trauma caused by an accidental fall which occurred on New Year’s Day. Crozier was 20.

Philadelphia police told local media that Crozier fell about 30 feet in a stairway at a frat house associated with the University of Pennsylvania but not owned by the school.

The son of Dave and Helene Crozier was a business management major who made his way to University Heights, Ohio, from LaSalle College High School in suburban Philadelphia. He was a former Cleveland area resident who at one time attended St. Paschal Baylon elementary school in Highland Heights.

In Matt's honor, all Ohio Athletic Conference schools hosting games on Jan. 5 observed a moment of silence prior to tipoff.

“Matt was everything you hope for when you bring someone into your program,” said JCU men’s basketball head coach Mike Moran. “When we recruited him, we knew right away the kind of impact that he would make not only as a player but as a person. He worked hard, had the right attitude, and was an excellent representative of his family, his community, his school and his team.”

Crozier was sitting out this season because of injury.

An honorable mention All-Ohio Athletic Conference  player as a sophomore, Crozier earned two letters and appeared in 58 games over the past two seasons for the Blue Streaks. He was a major contributor to John Carroll’s 2009 and 2010 OAC regular season championship teams, helping the Blue Streaks capture the 2009 OAC Tournament title and advance to the NCAA Division III tournament in each of the last two years.

In two seasons at JCU, Crozier amassed 608 points and 376 rebounds, and earned numerous awards including OAC Player of the Week (Nov. 30, 2009) and Most Valuable Player of the 2009 University of Scranton Radisson Invitational.

Crozier continued his basketball career at John Carroll following a successful span of years at LaSalle, where he averaged 16.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game as a senior and was a first team All-Catholic player for the Explorers.

Plans have been announced for a funeral mass in Yardley, Pennsylvania, for Saturday, Jan. 8, beginning at 10 am. at St. Ignatius of Antioch Roman Catholic Church.

There will also be a funeral mass held at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Gates Mills, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 11, at 10 am. Calling hours will take place at the Fioritto Funeral Home in Lyndhurst on Monday, Jan. 10, from 4-8 p.m.