CHESTERTOWN, MD – Johns Hopkins got a double double from junior George Bugarinovic and head coach Bill Nelson earned his 550th career game as JHU beat host Washington College, 64-57, on Saturday in the regular season finale. The Blue Jays improve to 15-10 overall and 12-6 in the Centennial Conference as they secure a first round bye in next week's CC Tournament. The Shoremen end their season with a 5-20 overall record and a 4-14 mark in the CC.
Fresh off the pre-game Senior Day ceremony, the Shoremen took an early 7-3 lead on a Dave Knox lay-up at 16:03. The Blue Jays responded with a 13-2 run as they took the lead and never trailed again. A free throw by Bugarinovic followed by a four-point play by classmate Luke Chambers and just like that the Blue Jays by one. Bugarinovic then sandwiched buckets, including a fast-break dunk, around a Pat Morgan lay-up and JHU led 12-9 with 12:16 to play. Hopkins outscored Washington College, 21-10, over the remainder of the half to take a 33-21 lead into the lockerroom. The Blue Jays closed the half on a 6-0 run, capped by a Matt Billups bucket with 18 ticks on the clock.
That run to the end half bled over into the start of the second as junior Jimmy Hammer drained a jumper to open the stanza and stake JHU to a 16-point lead. The Shoremen answered with a 9-4 spurt to trim the deficit down to 11 on a John Weston three with 14:57 to go. The Blue Jays pushed their lead back to 16, on the strength of free throws from senior Daniel Corbett and sophomore Austin Vasiliadis. Twice over the ensuing five minutes, Washington College cut the deficit in half to trail by just eight. Hopkins again responded, pushing back out to a 14-point lead, thanks in part to four straight free throws from Hammer.
Washington College wasn't going away in its final game of the season, as a Sean Brooks three-pointer sparked a 13-2 Shoremen run as they made it just a three-point game with 1:21 on the clock. Hopkins was able to seal the win with four straight free throws from Hammer and sophomore Gene Williams.
Hammer led the Blue Jays with 15 points while Bugarinovic added 13 points and 10 boards for his fifth double double of the season. Senior Connor McIntyre just missed a double double with eight points and eight boards. Brooks was the lone Shoremen in double digits as he finished with a game-high 16 points.
Hopkins earns the three seed in the CC Tournament and will face second-seeded Franklin & Marshall in the semifinals at top-seeded Dickinson. Tip-off is tentatively scheduled for 6:00 pm on Friday, February 28 at the Kline Center.