(Collegeville, Pa.) – The Dickinson men's basketball team held-off host Ursinus College for another key Centennial Conference win as the Red Devils move into a second-place tie with Johns Hopkins at 11-5 in conference play. Swarthmore holds the top spot with a 13-5 mark while Ursinus slips into a fourth-place tie with Franklin & Marshall at 10-6.
The teams traded baskets in the early going with junior Justus Melton (Charlotte, N.C./Covenant Day) giving the Red Devils a 12-9 lead with a three-pointer at the 14:35 mark.
The Bears answered to pull in front by five. The Red Devils went to work beyond the arc with a string of three-pointers from Elijah Wright (Orange, N.J./The Pennington School), Michael Jurzynski (Pearl River, N.Y./The Master's School) and Harrison Brown (Huntington, W. Va./The Miller School) as Dickinson led, 22-19, with 10:12 to play in the half.
Wright continued to lead the way while Bryce Allen (Albany, N.Y./The Hill School) stretched the margin to seven with a pair of free throws with 8:05 on the clock.
The Bears came back to take a one-point advantage, but the Devils would use three-pointers from Jurzynski and sophomore Mike Hinckley (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Episcopal Academy) to lead, 46-42, at halftime.
Dickinson built the lead back to seven with the help of another three-pointer and a free throw from Melton. The margin would sway between three and five points for the better part of the second half.
Eric Williams and Wright traded three-pointers at the 9:31 mark before back-to-back field-goals cut the Red Devil lead to one. Wright added a three-point play and knocked down a triple to put Dickinson in front by nine, with 7:22 remaining.
Allen buried a three-pointer to give Dickinson a double-digit lead with just over six minutes to play, but the Bears would put together one more rally. Matt Knowles hit back-to-back three-pointers and Williams hit a third to cut the deficit to 77-76, with just under two minutes to play.
Jurzynski came back with a three-pointer, finishing a feed from Allen for an 80-76 advantage. Remi Janicot tipped in an offensive rebound but Dickinson was able to then able to hold on defense, twice in the final 40 seconds to claim the win, 80-78.
Williams matched Wright with a game-high 29 points as Ursinus slips to 13-10 overall and 10-6 in the conference.
Wright went 6-for-7 from the free throw line, netting a career and game-high 29 points, adding a trio of three-pointers, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Jurzynski reached double-figures with 11 points, also knocking down three triples.
Melton and Moses Romocki (Creedmoor, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) each scored eight points, combing for seven rebounds and seven assists. Allen tallied eight points as well with Brown netting seven and Hinckley finished with five points and three assists.
The Red Devils (14-9, 11-5 CC) close out the regular season with a pair of home games, hosting Franklin & Marshall at 8:00 pm on Wednesday and Washington College on Saturday at 4:00 pm. The Red Devils have secured a spot in the Centennial Conference playoffs but the final standings are still to be determined.