The Basics
• Score: #12 Johns Hopkins-67, Gettysburg-57
• Records: JHU (14-2, 10-1 CC) • GC (10-7, 6-5 CC)
• Location: Gettysburg, PA • Bream Gym
• The Short Story: Junior Carson James scored a career-best 24 points to lead the 12^th-ranked Johns Hopkins men's basketball team to a 67-57 win at Gettysburg Thursday night.
 
How it Happened
• James drained back-to-back threes to open the game to spot Hopkins to a quick 6-0 lead. Avery Close answered with two triples of his own, sandwiched around a Conner Delaney three, and it was 9-6 Blue Jays. The teams went back and forth over the ensuing 90 seconds and the Jays led 13-8. Carl Schaller hit one of two free throws, then drained a jumper and Close followed with another three-pointer to put the Bullets up 14-13.
• James grabbed the lead back for Hopkins with a bucket in the paint, but a Close layup swung the lead back to Gettysburg. James answered with a bucket from downtown and the Blue Jays led 18-16 at the 11:51-mark. A Sidney Thybulle and a pair of Braeden Johnson free throws and just like that the Blue Jays' lead was six.
• Gettysburg answered with back-to-back buckets to pull back within two. The teams traded buckets over the final nine and a half minutes and JHU led 36-31 at the half.
• Buckets from Delaney and senior Chid Nnake pushed Hopkins' lead to nine. A Collin Farrell free throw and a Close layup kept the lead in single digits. Leading 42-36 with 12:12 to play, James and Thybulle scored back-to-back buckets to give Hopkins its biggest lead of the night. The teams swapped scores and it was 50-40 Blue Jays with 9:43 to play.
• Five straight points from Akim Joseph sparked a 7-1 Bullets' run as they trimmed the lead to four just two minutes later. Senior Tom Quarry answered with a layup to jump start a quick 11-3 run that saw Hopkins take a 62-50 lead with just 1:43 to play. The lead seesawed up and down for the remainder of the game as the Blue Jays went to the line eight times.
 
What it Means
• Hopkins improves to 44-52 all-time against Gettysburg and has won nine straight in the series.
• The Blue Jays take over first place in the Centennial Conference with Swarthmore's loss to Muhlenberg. The
 
Inside the Box Score
• James led all scorers with 24 points, for his second straight 20-point game, and also grabbed six rebounds. Delaney added 16 points, four assists and three steals. Thybulle just missed a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds, nine points and two blocks.
• Close led the Bullets with 23 points, while Schaller added 12 points.
 
Up Next
• Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, January 29 as the Blue Jays visit 15^th-ranked Swarthmore. Tip-off at Tarble Pavilion is slated for 3:00 pm.