The Basics
• Score: #7 Johns Hopkins-74, Ursinus-68
• Records: JHU (20-3, 14-2 CC) • UC (12-11, 7-9 CC)
• Location: Collegeville, PA • Helfferich Hall
How it Happened
The seventh-ranked Johns Hopkins men's basketball team got back in the win column with a 74-68 win at Ursinus on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays led wire-to-wire as they secured the number two seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament.
Hopkins jumped out to a 14-2 lead, fueled by four Blue Jay three-pointers, including a pair from sophomore Ethan Bartlett. Ursinus trimmed the deficit to eight at the 14:00-minute mark with a 6-2 spurt. The Blue Jays then sandwiched a pair of triples around a Ryan Hughes jumper followed by a Tom Quarry layup and just like that they led 24-10.
The lead seesawed up and down as Hopkins led by as much as 16 with 5:05 to play. Sophomore Chid Nnake capped the sequence with a fast-break dunk to stake JHU to a 36-20 lead. Bruce Edwards answered on the other with a bucket in the paint to spark a 10-2 Bears' run that saw the home team slice the deficit in half by the break.
George Gordon opened the second-half scoring and cut the deficit to six. Quarry and Bartlett answered with back-to-back threes, sandwiched around a Ryan McTamney layup and the lead was 10. The Bears answered right back with a 9-2 run to pull within three with 16:07 to play.
Hopkins got six straight points from Nnake and junior Conner Delaney to push its lead back to nine a little over three minutes later. But Ursinus was going away as the Bears put together an 8-2 run to once again get within three. Once again, Hopkins answered, this time with an 8-2 run of its own to take a 62-53 lead on Quarry's third three of the game.
A Gordon free throw and a Hughes layup cut the Blue Jays' lead to six. Delaney then scored 12 straight points in a 12-4 Hopkins run as the Jays pushed out to a 74-60 lead with just 42 ticks on the clock. The Bears would score eight points in the final 37 seconds to account for the six-point win.
What it Means
• Hopkins improves to 57-46 all-time against Ursinus and has won six straight in the series. The Blue Jays have won the last seven meetings at Helfferich Hall.
• Hopkins reaches the 20-win mark for the second time under head coach Josh Loeffler and the third time in the last six years.
Inside the Box Score
• Delaney led four Blue Jays in double figures with 23 points, going 8-of-11 from the floor, while handing out seven assists and grabbing two steals.
• Quarry finished with 15 points and a team-best eight rebounds, while Bartlett added 14 points and five boards. Nnake tied his career-high with 11 points, going a perfect 5-of-5 from the field.
• Hughes finished with a game-high 29 points, 14 of which came in the final five minutes. McTamney scored 16 points and had a game-best 10 rebounds. Gordon (11 points) and Jimmy Kpadeh (10 points) also finished in double digits.
Up Next
• Hopkins is back on the road on Wednesday, February 19 as the Blue Jays visit the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats. Tip-off at the Mayser Center is slated for 8:00 pm.