READING, PA – Host and 21st-ranked Alvernia used a 26-10 run over the game's final 10 minutes to defeat Johns Hopkins, 81-65, in non-conference action Wednesday night. The Blue Jays drop their second straight as they slip to 1-2 on the season while the Crusaders improve to 2-1 in their home opener.
Senior Connor McIntyre hit a pair of free throws at the 10:01 mark to tie the game at 55 apiece and cap a quick 5-0 spurt for Hopkins. Alvernia came right back down the floor and got a layup from Brian Parker to retake the lead just 12 seconds later. That basket sparked a 10-1 run by the Crusaders as they pushed out to a 65-56 lead, a lead they would not relinquish. Senior Daniel Corbett and Charles Cooper traded free throws over a 76-second span and Alvernia had a 66-57 advantage.
Sophomores Matt Billups and Gene Williams sandwiched jumpers around a triple from Khalil Bennett and it was an eight-point game with 4:03 to play. But that's as close as the Blue Jays could get as the Crusaders scored 11 unanswered points to take an 80-61 lead at the 1:48-mark. Junior Luke Chambers halted the run with one of two from the free throw line before Matt O'Keefe got that one back on the other end. Freshman Ryan Curran closed out the game with a bucket from downtown, one of five Blue Jays to hit from three-point range.
With the game tied at five apiece just 3:33 into the game, Corbett hit a three-pointer, followed by a fast-break layup by junior George Bugarinovic and the Blue Jays led by five. The teams traded buckets before jumpers by junior Jimmy Hammer and sophomore Matt Chiusano pushed the lead to seven with 13:16 to go in the half. Bennett trimmed the deficit back to five with a fast-break bucket but senior Aleksandar Nikolic answered with one of his own on the other end and it was 18-11 Hopkins.
The Crusaders got a free throw from Harrison Deyo and a triple from Cooper, sparking a 17-7 run that saw Alvernia take a 28-25 lead with 6:25 on the clock. Cooper fueled the run with nine points, all from downtown, as Alvernia went 4-of-4 from three-point range during the spurt. Sophomore Austin Vasiliadis tied the game with a three-pointer at 5:54, but Cooper answered on the other end with three from the free throw line to give Alvernia back a three-point lead. Hammer cut the deficit to one with a fast-break layup and then Williams hit from downtown to put Hopkins ahead with 4:37 to go.
Following a series of empty possessions by both teams, Billups hit a 15-foot jumper to push Hopkins' lead to seven as the clock ticked under two minutes. Parker answered with a bucket in the paint but Billups would have the final say of the half with a jumper in the lane to give Hopkins a 37-33 lead at the half.
Parker got the first point of the half, making one of two shots from the charity stripe but Bugarinovic drained a jumper to push the lead to five. Alvernia answered with a 7-0 run to take a 41-39 lead at the 17:45-mark. Hopkins came right back with a pair of free throws from Hammer following a technical foul on Parker. And on the ensuing possession, Bugarinovic converted a pair of shots from the line to push the Blue Jays ahead, 43-31.
Lamont Clark tied the game for the ninth time with a bucket in the paint just 12 seconds later. That ignited an 8-0 run for the Crusaders, with Clark accounting for all eight points, including a pair of conventional three-point plays. A three-pointer from Hammer and a fast-break layup by junior Omar Randall, sandwiched around a jumper from Bennett and it was a three-point game with 13:55 to go. The teams traded buckets over the ensuing two minutes as Alvernia took a 55-50 lead on a Deyo free throw at 11:35. The Blue Jays would answer with five quick points, capped by McIntyre's pair from the charity stripe to tie the game at 55 all.
Hammer led the Blue Jays with 11 points, while also grabbing a career-high four steals, and was the only JHU player in double figures. Billups chipped in a career-high eight points and Corbett tied his career-high with seven helpers. Bennett led all scorers with 21 points as five Crusaders finished in double figures.
Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, November 23 as the Blue Jays open Centennial Conference play. Hopkins will take on Ursinus with tip-off set for 3:00 pm at Goldfarb Gym.