BALTIMORE, MD – Johns Hopkins shot 53.8 percent from the field and got a game-high 24 points from junior Jimmy Hammer as the Blue Jays beat the visiting Ursinus Bears, 90-56, in both teams' Centennial Conference opener Saturday. Hopkins improves to 2-2 overall while the Bears slip to 1-3. 

With the game tied at six apiece following a Malik Draper three-pointer at the 15:32-mark in the first half, Hammer and senior Daniel Corbett sandwiched triples around a jumper by Trey Harris and Hopkins led 12-8 just 90 seconds later. The Blue Jays would not trail again as they pushed their lead to double digits by the 10:23 mark thanks to an 11-5 spurt. Hammer made it a 13-point lead with his second three-pointer of the game at 9:48 to put JHU up 26-13. 

Ryan Adams got a bucket in the paint on the Bears' next possession, but the Blue Jays answered with seven unanswered and their lead was 18. Ursinus trimmed the deficit to 14 with a 6-2 burst, capped by a Draper jumper with 2:44 to go in the half. But Hopkins answered with a 6-2 surge of its own to take a 41-23 lead into the locker room.

Coming out of the break, Ursinus put together a 12-6 run to make it a 12-point game with 15:18 still to play. That's as close as the Bears would get as the Jays came right back with an Austin Vasiliadis three-pointer that sparked a 29-7 outburst and saw Hopkins take a commanding 76-42 lead with 7:15 to go. Eight different players scored during the run, led by Vasiliadis' eight points, and it was punctuated by a steal and layup by Hammer. That would put the game out of reach as Ursinus could get no closer than 29 over the final seven minutes.

Hammer finished with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Bugarinovic posted his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 boards, while Vasiliadis added 10 points and two assists. Draper was the only Bear to finish in double figures as he finished with 15. Hopkins shot 53.8 percent from the field, a season-high, while holding Ursinus to just 30.2 percent shooting.

Hopkins returns to action on Tuesday, November 26 as the Blue Jays travel to Lancaster, PA to take on the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats. Tip-off from the Mayser Center for the Centennial Conference tilt is set for 8:00 pm.