The Basics
• Score: Johns Hopkins-66, Ursinus-57
• Records: JHU (9-5, 6-1 CC) • UC (7-7, 4-3 CC)
• Location: Collegeville, PA • Helfferich Hall
• The Short Story: Seniors Michael Gardner and Daniel Vila combined for 41 points and 16 boards to lead the Johns Hopkins men's basketball team to a 66-57 win over host Ursinus Thursday night.
How it Happened
• Trailing by five just four minutes in to the game, Gardner accounted for all the Blue Jays' points in a 7-2 spurt that knotted the score at 12 at the 13:26-mark. Senior Noah Ralby and Eric Williams Jr. then traded buckets and the score was 14-all.
• Ralby followed with his second straight bucket, igniting a 22-4 run that spanned the remainder of the half and sent Hopkins into the break with a 36-18 lead. Six different players scored during the run while the Blue Jay defense forced eight turnovers and a 2-of-13 shooting performance by the Bears.
• Coming out of the half, Hopkins picked up where it left off and pushed its lead to as much as 20 three times in the opening five minutes.
• Ursinus wasn't going away without a fight however, despite trailing 48-28 at the 13:35-mark. Williams hit back-to-back pull-up jumpers to spark a 19-6 run that saw the Blue Jays' lead sliced to just seven with 6:48 to play. Williams and Lucas Olshevski combined for 17 of the 19 points and Williams capped the run with a triple in the corner to make it 54-47.
• Three free throws from senior Joey Fitzpatrick and Ralby, followed by five straight points from Vila, fueled an 8-4 burst that pushed Hopkins' lead to 61-51 with 1:38 on the clock. A three-point play by Shane Stark cut the deficit back to single digits for the Bears, but the Blue Jays were able to seal the win at the free throw line in the final 75 seconds.
What it Means
• Hopkins improves to 53-46 all-time against Ursinus and has won 10 of the last 12. In addition, the Blue Jays have won six straight in Collegeville.
Inside the Box Score
• Gardner led all scorers with 26 points, including five three-pointers, while he also grabbed five rebounds. He eclipsed the 900-point mark in the win and now needs just 84 points to become the 17th player in program history with 1,000 career points.
• Vila posted his first career double-double with a season-high 15 points and a career-best 11 boards, including eight offensive. He added two blocks and two assists. His eight offensive rebounds are two shy of the school single-game record and are the most by a Blue Jay since February 18, 2012.
• Williams Jr. paced the Bears with 15 points and Olshevski finished with 10. Hopkins held Ursinus, the league's best offensive team, 21 points below its season average.
Up Next
• Hopkins is back on the road in two days as the Blue Jays visit the Haverford Fords. Tip-off at Gooding Arena is slated for 3:00 pm.