The Basics
• Score: #16 Johns Hopkins-86, Washington College-83 (OT)
• Records: JHU (11-2, 5-1 CC) • WC (3-10, 1-5 CC)
• Location: Chestertown, MD • Cain Athletic Center
How it Happened
The 16th-ranked Johns Hopkins men's basketball trailed by as many as 19 but rallied to beat host Washington College, 86-83, in overtime Saturday afternoon.
The Shoremen jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the game's opening two and a half minutes, going 4-of-5 from the field. Sophomore Braeden Johnson hit a three with 16:17 to go in the half to spark a 14-2 run that gave the Blue Jays a 16-11 lead less than four minutes later. Five different Blue Jays scored during the run, which was fueled by a pair of Johnson triples and a Tom Quarry three-point play. Washington College answered with a 10-0 run, capped by a Cole Strom three-pointer to go up 21-16.
Trailing 23-18 with 5:15 on the clock, junior Conner Delaney and sophomore Chid Nnake got back-to-back buckets to pull the Blue Jays with one. After trading buckets, the Shoremen scored seven unanswered points to push out to a 32-24 lead at the 2:38-mark. A Quarry three-point play was answered by an Alec Lewis three and the lead was seven. Delaney responded on the other end with a driving layup to make it a35-30 game with 59 ticks on the clock and that's how the teams would go into half.
Washington College came out of the half firing and used a 19-5 run to push out to a 54-35 lead with 12:16 to play. Still down by 19 with just under 10 minutes to play, Johnson converted three free throws to kick-start an 18-3 run. Quarry capped the run with three free throws of his own and the Shoremen's lead was down to 63-58 with 3:58 to go.
The Shoremen pushed their lead to eight with 2:22 on the clock, but the Blue Jays weren't going away. Junior Joey Kern drained a three-pointer to cut it to five, but Lewis answered with a pair of free throws. Freshman Carson James scored a layup, followed by an Austin Allen layup and the lead was still seven with 1:21 to go
Johnson hit another three-pointer and then Delaney drove the paint and scored to pull Hopkins within two with one minute remaining. Another Allen bucket and the lead was back to four, but this one was far from over. Delaney hit one of two free throws for the Jays and Derrick Carter answered with two for the Shoremen to stake the home team to a 76-71 lead with 28 ticks left. Delaney responded with a bucket from downtown and Johnson then stole the inbounds pass and found an open James for the tying layup. Carter's bid for the go-ahead score was blocked by Quarry and the teams headed to overtime.
Delaney opened the scoring in overtime with a bucket in the paint to give Hopkins its first lead since 11:41 of the first half. Washington College answered with a Daniel Brown jumper and a Carter three-pointer to grab a three-point lead. Lewis pushed it to four with one of two free throws with 2:57 to go. James responded with a layup on the other end to spark an 8-1 run as the Blue Jays would go on to win 86-83.
What it Means
• Hopkins leads the all-time series, 81-62, and has won seven of the last eight.
• It is the 99th career win for head coach Josh Loeffler, who is in his fifth season overall and third at Hopkins. In addition, he is now tied with Ross Sachs for fourth on the wins' list at JHU.
• This the first time that JHU has trailed by at least 15 points and won since January 16, 2019. Hopkins trailed 35-19 at Dickinson and won 67-64.
Inside the Box Score
• Delaney led all scorers with 29 points, to go with six assists and two steals. He has 221 assists for his career and now ranks 11th in school history. He needs five to tie Frank Grzywacz for 10th in school history.
• Johnson added 15 points, including three three-pointers, while Kern scored 14 and grabbed six rebounds. Quarry just missed a double-double, finishing with nine points and nine boards, while also blocking a pair of shots.
• Allen and Lewis led the Shoremen with 17 points apiece, while Lewis also had seven boards and four assists. Dallas Marshall added 14 points and Brown chipped in 13.
Up Next
• Hopkins returns to action on Wednesday, January 15 as the Blue Jays host the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats. Tip-off at Goldfarb Gym is slated for 8:00 pm.