BALTIMORE, MD – Five players scored in double figures as 11th-ranked Johns Hopkins beat visiting Gettysburg, 80-67, in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Tournament Friday night. The Blue Jays improve to 23-3 as they advance to the conference title game for the second straight season. The Bullets finish their season at 15-12.
The Blue Jays led 48-33 at the half on the strength of 10 first-half points from seniors George Bugarinovic and Omar Randall and better than 62 percent shooting from the field (18-of-29). Hopkins sprinted out to a 12-2 lead in the first four minutes with three-pointers from Randall and senior Jimmy Hammer igniting the game-opening spree, which also included a layup and a breakaway dunk by sophomore Ryan Curran.
The Blue Jays methodically built the lead to as many as 21 in the opening 20 minutes Randall, Hammer and junior Gene Williams all went 2-for-3 on three-pointers in the first half and the hot-shooting, coupled with just one turnover, kept the Bullets from piecing together any type of sustained run. Gettysburg was as close as 13 twice late in the first half, but an Austin Vasiliadis jumper at the buzzer pushed the lead to 15.
After a Curran layup to open the second half, Gettysburg answered with a 16-7 spurt to trim the deficit to just eight. Pete Christ capped the run with a three-pointer to make it a 57-49 game with 13:26 to play. Hopkins came right back with a triple from Hammer and a Williams free throw to push the lead back to 12. Sean Gordon answered with a three for the Bullets, but a Bugarinovic layup sparked an 11-0 run that saw JHU's lead swell to 20 on a Williams' three.
Gettysburg wasn't going away however as Tanner Kirkpatrick scored seven straight points for the Bullets to pull the visitors within 13 at the 3:11-mark. Curran hit a layup for the Jays, followed by a pair of free throws from Randall and just like that the lead was 17. The Bullets pulled within 13 three times in the final two minutes, but they could get no closer as the Jays closed out the win.
Bugarinovic led the Blue Jays with 18 points and six rebounds, while Curran added 13 points and three blocks. Randall, Hammer and Williams all punched up 12 points as Hopkins had five players score in double figures for the second time this season. Gladstone led all scorers with 19 points for the Bullets, while Gordon chipped in nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Hopkins will take on third-seeded Dickinson in the Centennial Conference title game on Saturday. Tip-off at Goldfarb Gym is slated for 7:00 pm.