BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins men's basketball team used a 17-7 game-ending run to beat visiting McDaniel, 70-60, on Wednesday night in Centennial Conference action. The Blue Jays win their sixth straight to improve to 15-7 overall and 11-4 in the conference. Hopkins also clinched a spot in the conference playoffs with three games left. The Green Terror slip to 12-10 overall and 6-9 in the conference.
McDaniel tied the game with a pair of free throws from Phillip Perry at the 6:17 mark in the second half. Senior Mike Rhoads responded with two huge buckets to put Hopkins back on top by four two minutes later. Evan Pupelis cut the deficit in half with a pair of free throws but a triple from sophomore Jimmy Hammer and a layup from senior Adam Spengler on consecutive possessions pushed the lead to seven with 2:01 to go. Hopkins would seal the win at the free throw line s the Blue Jays went 8-of-8 from the charity stripe in the game's final 65 seconds.
Hopkins stormed out to a 15-5 lead with Hammer and sophomore George Bugarinovic combing for 11 points. McDaniel called timeout to stem the tide and it worked as the Green Terror scored seven straight to make it a three-point game on a pair of free throws from Pupelis. The teams traded baskets over the ensuing four minutes, as Hopkins could not build its lead to more than four points.
Spengler then scored on back-to-back possessions and freshman Matt Chiusano converted an old-fashioned three-point play to stake Hopkins to an eight-point lead with 2:46 on the clock. McDaniel answered with a 10-2 spurt, capped by Cameron Royster's bucket in the paint, to tie the game at 31 apiece with just 45 ticks on the clock. Bugarinovic would answer with a layup on the next possession to send Hopkins into the half with a 33-31 lead.
The Jays and Terror went bucket for bucket in the opening four minutes of the half until junior Connor McIntyre put up four straight points to put JHU on top 44-40. The Green Terror used a quick 7-0 run to take a 47-44 lead, their first of the game. But the lead would be short-lived as a jumper from Spengler and a Chiusano layup swung the lead back to Hopkins. Cranwell drained a pair of free throws to temporarily put the Green Terror ahead on the next possession. But Chiusano's jumper with 10:21, followed by a Spengler bucket, gave Hopkins a three-point lead. McDaniel hung around and tied the game at 53 all with 6:17 to go on Perry's free throws.
Hammer led four Blue Jays in double digits with a game-high 20 points. Spengler finished with 16 and handed out four assists, while Chiusano finished with 11 and Bugarinovic had 10. Bugarinovic also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked a career-best five shots. Perry paced the Green Terror with 18 points, the only player in double figures for McDaniel. Tyler Rudd, one of the conference's leading scorers with 15.8 points per game, was held to just five points though he pulled 11 rebounds.
Hopkins hits the road for Collegeville, PA to take on Ursinus College on Saturday, February 9. Tip off from Helfferich Hall is set for 3:00 pm.