SWARTHMORE, PA – Host Swarthmore scored with 40 seconds remaining to take the lead for good in an 89-87 win over Johns Hopkins in non-conference action Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays fall to 4-4 on the season as they wrap up the fall semester, while the Garnet improve to 5-3.
Jeb Williams hit a pair of free throws with one minute remaining to give Hopkins the lead, 87-86. Zander Jimenez answered on the other end with a bucket in the paint to put Swarthmore on top, 88-87. After the Blue Jays came up empty on the ensuing possession, Devin Burger sealed the win by making one of two free throws with seven ticks on the clock.
The Garnet jumped out to a 20-5 lead over the game's opening eight minutes. Seven players scored during the run, which was capped by a Devin Burger three-pointer at the 12:06-mark. The Blue Jays then got three straight triples from Tanti Felli, Luke Thorburn and John Windley, sandwiched around a Cal Hanson three-pointer, to pull within nine at 10:34.
Swarthmore answered with an 11-0 run to push out to a 34-14 lead just three and a half minutes later. Windley halted the run with a three-pointer to spark a 15-2 run that saw the Blue Jays slice the deficit to seven with 4:02 to play. Windley book-ended the run with another bucket from downtown. The Garnet used a 6-3 spurt to push its lead back to double digits at 42-32, but Charlie Jackson scored the final five points of the half and it was down to a five-point game at the break.
The Blue Jays picked up right where they left off, score the first four points to make it just a one-point game with 18:21 to play. Burger got the Garnet on the board in the second with a layup to ignite an 11-3 run that put the home team up 53-44 at 15:56. The game of runs continued as Hopkins countered with a 12-2 run, fueled by six points from Thorburn and capped by a pair of Wyatt Eglinton Manner free throws. That gave Hopkins its first lead of the game at 56-55.
The lead was short-lived as the Garnet used an 11-4 run to push out to a 66-60 lead with 11:37 to play. The lead continued to see-saw up and down as Swarthmore could extend its lead to no more than eight. Trailing 82-74 with 3:58 on the clock, Windley and Brian Johansson combined for a 9-0 run that gave the Blue Jays' the lead, 83-82, with 2:07 to play.
The Garnet then made four consecutive free throws to go up 86-83 just 38 seconds later. Johansson answered with a layup, followed by those two Williams' free throws that gave the Blue Jays an 87-86 lead with 1:00 to play.
Windley led the Blue Jays with a game-high 21 points and the senior needs just five points to reach 1,000 for his career. Thorburn scored a season-high 14 points, going 5-of-7 from the field. Johansson also scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Jackson scored 12 points and tied Johansson for the team lead with eight boards. Eddie Paquette paced the Garnet with 19 points, while Nyle Coleman and Burger had 12 points each. Hanson finished with 11 points and Jiminez added 10.
Hopkins returns to action on January 2 as the Blue Jays host the Rowan Profs. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 pm at Goldfarb Gym.