SWARTHMORE, PA – Johns Hopkins held host Swarthmore to just 23.7 shooting from the floor en route to a 76-47 win at Tarble Pavilion in Centennial Conference (CC) action Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays win their third straight as they improve to 7-6 overall and 4-2 in the CC, while the Garnet fall to 5-8 overall and 2-4 in the conference. Junior Jimmy Hammer finished with 14 to lead a balanced scoring attack that saw 12 different players score for the Blue Jays.
Hopkins raced out to a 12-3 lead and later pushed its lead to 20-12 with 9:26 to play in the opening half after back-to-back buckets by sophomore Matt Billups and junior Luke Chambers. The Garnet quickly got back into things with a six-point burst, pulling within two just two minutes later. The Blue Jays called timeout and it was just what the Jays needed as junior George Bugarinovic drew a foul and sank both his shots from the line. Hammer followed with a bucket from downtown and just like that the lead was seven.
Joe Keedy cashed in an offensive rebound on the other end to make it a five-point game, but Hopkins answered with a fast-break lay-up by junior Omar Randall and a three-pointer from Hammer to stake the Jays to a 30-20 lead. Swarthmore temporarily ended the run with a pair of Keedy free throws with 3:54 to play. Hopkins answered with seven straight points, book-ended by Bugarinovic lay-ups and the lead was 15. Sam Lebryk would have the final say of the half though, hitting a triple to make it a 37-25 game at the break.
Hopkins picked up where it left off and quickly pushed its lead to 18, thanks in part to a pair of baskets by senior Connor McIntyre. Luke McCartin answered with a three-pointer at 15:53, but once again the Blue Jays came right back, this time with a 9-0 run as they pushed out to a 24-point lead. Hammer did a lot of the damage during the burst with five points, including a conventional three-point play on a fast break. The Garnet twice cut the deficit by two but each time the Blue Jays answered and that is as close as the home team would get. Hopkins would push its lead to as many as 31 points before taking home the 29-point win.
Hammer led all scorers with 14 points, while Bugarinovic added 13 points, two assists and two steals. McIntyre, Randall and freshman Max McKee each chipped in eight points. McIntyre also swatted four shots as the Blue Jays blocked a season-high eight shots, seven of those coming in the first half. The eight blocks are the most by the Blue Jays since they had eight at Muhlenberg on January 10, 2012. Keedy led the Garnet with seven points, while McCartin and Seth Liebert each added six points.
Hopkins returns to action on Tuesday, January 14 as the Blue Jays travel to Carlisle, PA to take on the league-leading Dickinson Red Devils. Tip off from the Kline Center is slated for 8:00 pm.