VIDEO | Dickinson M. Basketball - 2015 Centennial Conference Championship Celebration
(Baltimore, Md.) – The #14-ranked Dickinson men's basketball team captured the Centennial Conference Championship on Saturday night, holding off #11-ranked Johns Hopkins, 65-61. The Red Devils earn the conference's automatic bid and will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.
The teams traded possessions in the opening minutes, looking to shake off some early game jitters. Gerry Wixted put the Devils on the board first, hitting a pair of free throws.
Jimmy Hammer answered on the other end and Brandon Angradi knocked down a three-pointer from the wing. George Bugarinovic hit two free throws and Ryan Curran hit a three from the top of the arc to put the Blue Jays up, 7-5. Bugarinovic made a great save on the baseline, feeding Curran for a lay-up.
Steve Collins cut the deficit to 9-8 before Hammer scored on a driving lay-up and buried a triple form the corner for a 14-8 advantage, with just over 13 minutes to play in the half.
Wixted countered with a put-back to cut it to four, and sophomore Robert Picka came up with a big blocked shot, leading to a Ted Hinnenkamp lay-up off the fast break.
Pete Yingst put Dickinson on top, 15-14, hitting a three-pointer from the corner at the 10:30 mark. Picka followed that up with a lay-up off an assist from Moses Romocki.
Gene Williams tied the game with a three-pointer, and Wixted traded free throws with Bugarinovic. Angradi put Dickinson back in front with a foul line jumper. Hopkins sandwiched three free throws around a basket by Chris Cox to trail 23-22. Wixted came back with the Devils' four three-pointer of the night for a four-point lead.
Angradi got hot, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to stretch the margin to 10. Omar Randall hit a three for Hopkins and Picka sank a long jumper for a 34-25 advantage.
Hammer hit a lay-up and Curran pulled the Blue Jays within five with a pair of foul shots at the 2:12 mark. Wixted battled for a bucket before a Curran triple made the score, 36-32, at the break.
Hinnenkamp opened the second half with a three-pointer, hitting from the corner off a nice dish from Cox. Austin Vasiliadis answered with a three-pointer on the other end. The Red Devils stretched the lead to seven with a free throw and short jumper by Hinnenkamp.
Curran came back with a lay-up and Hammer connected on a pair of foul shots to pull Hopkins within three. Collins and Bugarinovic traded baseline jumpers, and Collins added a three-pointer to put Dickinson up, 49-44, with 12:54.
Matt Billups converted two free throws but Hinnenkamp made a great move inside on the next possession. Cox hit a free throw and Wixted added a pair from the stripe to extend the lead to 54-48, with just over seven minutes remaining.
Wixted knocked down a three from the wing but Omar Randall neutralized that with a triple on the other end. Vasiliadis answered a Cox lay-up with another three-pointer to pull within five. Wixted and Cox went inside while the Blue Jays stayed with the long ball, hitting another three for a 63-57, Dickinson lead.
The Blue Jays cut the lead to three as Randall hit a jumper and Curran a three-pointer. Hopkins controlled a loose ball rebound and to have one final chance to tie the game. The shot was off the mark, giving the Red Devils their second conference title in the past three seasons.
Wixted was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player, scoring a game-high 19 points, adding 15 rebounds and three blocked shots, going 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
Hinnenkamp finished with 13 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists while Angradi reached double-figures with 11. Cox turned in an outstanding performance as well, tallying seven points, five rebounds and five assists.
Curran led Johns Hopkins (23-4) with 17 points while Vasliliadis and Randall each finished with 11.
The Red Devils improve to 22-5 overall and will await the NCAA pairings, which will be announced on Monday.