BALTIMORE, MD – Johns Hopkins got a double-double from senior forward George Bugarinovic as the host Blue Jays upset the fourth-ranked Dickinson Red Devils, 67-54, on Wednesday night. The Blue Jays win their ninth straight as they improve to 12-2 overall and 6-1 in the Centennial Conference (CC). The Red Devils see their nine game win streak snapped as they fall to 12-2 overall and 5-2 in the CC. The fourth-ranked Red Devils are the highest-ranked team the Blue Jays have ever beaten.
The Red Devils pulled within one just 74 seconds into the second half with three straight points from Gerry Wixted. The Blue Jays answered with a 15-2 run that saw their lead balloon to 13 with 9:27 to play. A pair of free throws from sophomore Ryan Curran got things going and three three-pointers from senior Jimmy Hammer and junior Gene Williams fueled the run. Williams put the punctuation on the run with a bucket from downtown at 9:27 to make it a 52-39 game.
The lead yo-yoed from 10 to 14 points as Dickinson could not get the deficit below double digits. Hopkins would seal the win at the free throw line, going 5-of-6 from the line in the final 61 seconds. The Blue Jays held the Red Devils to just six field goals in the second half and they went nearly eight minutes without a bucket midway through the period.
Hopkins opened the game on a 10-2 run as the Blue Jays drained their first five shots and six of the 10 points came from Bugarinovic. The Red Devils shook off the early woes and put together an 18-6 spurt that saw them take a 20-16 lead. Wixted and Ted Hinnenkamp powered the run by combining for 14 of the Red Devils' 18 points. Williams pulled the Blue Jays back within one with a three-pointer, his first of four on the night, but a Robert Picka layup gave Dickinson a 22-19 lead with 9:00 to play in the half.
Senior Luke Chambers responded with a pull-up jumper and following an Austin Vasiliadis steal, Williams hit a fast-break three and the Jays led by two. That ignited a 13-0 Blue Jays run as they pushed out to a 32-22 lead with 4:34 on the clock. Four different players scored during the run for JHU, led by freshman Kyle Doran with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer. Dickinson wasn't going away however and closed the half on an 11-4 run as the Red Devils trimmed the deficit to four at the break. Brandon Angradi did much of the damage for the Red Devils as he drained three three-pointers. Dickinson picked up where it left off to start the second, as Wixted hit one of two free throws and then converted a bucket in the paint to make it a 37-36 game.
Bugarinovic led three Blue Jays in double figures with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Curran added 13 points while Williams chipped in 12 going 4-of-7 from three-point range. Vasiliadis handed out five assists and swiped a career-best six steals. Wixted scored a game-high 17 points for the Red Devils while also grabbing 11 boards. Hinnenkamp, who scored 10 points in the first half, finished with 13 for the Devils. Hopkins shot 43.9 percent from the floor for the game, including 51.7 in the first half. Dickinson shot just 35.8 percent from the field for the game after shooting 50.0 percent in the first half.
Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, January 17 as the Blue Jays host the Ursinus Bears. Tip-off at Goldfarb Gym is slated for 3:00 pm.