The Basics

• Score: #13 Johns Hopkins-81, Ursinus-75

• Records: JHU (21-3) • UC (13-13)

• Location: Baltimore, MD • Goldfarb Gym

• The Short Story: Graduate student Conner Delaney scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Johns Hopkins men's basketball team to an 81-75 win over Ursinus in the Centennial Conference semifinals Friday night at Goldfarb Gym.

How it Happened

• A Tom Quarry corner three capped a 10-2 run that staked Hopkins to a 76-63 lead with 3:46 to play. Ursinus, the top-scoring team in the conference wasn't going way. The Bears answered with nine straight points in a two-minute span. Sean Neylon converted a three-point play to punctuate the run and pull Ursinus within four at the 1:47-mark.

• Junior Lincoln Yeutter drained a pair of free throws, but Ryan Hughes answered with a bucket on the other end and it was 78-74 Blue Jays with 24 ticks on the clock. Hopkins would go 3-of-4 from the charity stripe in the waning seconds to punch its fourth straight trip to the conference title game.

• The teams traded blows early and Ursinus held a 13-12 lead with 10:46 to play in the first after a Neylon pull-up jumper. Quarry hit a three, followed by four straight points from senior Chid Nnake, and just like that Hopkins led 19-13. The lead seesawed up and down over the ensuing eight minutes and it was a 35-29 game late in the half after a Jaiden Jakubowski jumper. Delaney pushed the lead to nine with a deep step-back three but Jakubowski answered with a three of his own and it was a 38-32 game at the break.

• Leading by six early in the second, Delaney scored on a driving layup to kick-start an 8-0 run as the Blue Jays pushed their lead to 14. A Beau Everett triple sparked a quick 7-2 spurt that saw the Bears trim the deficit to nine with 14:23 to go.

• The teams went back-and-forth over a two-minute span and Hopkins led 59-45. Trevor Wall converted a pair of free throws to spark a 8-1 run, capped by a Jakubowski jumper, to pull Ursinus within three with 7:22 to go. Quarry ended the spurt with a bucket from downtown and ignited a Blue Jays' run that saw the lead grow to 13. Quarry bookended the with his fifth triple of the night with 3:46 on the clock.

What it Means

• Hopkins wins its ninth straight over Ursinus and improves to 60-46 all-time against the Bears. JHU is now 3-3 against Ursinus in the Centennial Conference Tournament.

• The Blue Jays are making their fourth straight, and 13^th overall championship game appearance. Hopkins is seeking its second straight, and sixth overall, conference title. Only Franklin & Marshall (14) has more championship game appearances than JHU.

Inside the Box Score

• Delaney turned in his 11^th 20-point game of the season, to go with five assists, two steals and five rebounds. He finished the game with 394 career assists and needs five to tie the program record. Quarry scored 19 points, and had more three-pointers (5) than the Bears (4). Ursinus entered the game as the league leader with 240 three-pointers.

• Junior Sidney Thybulle posted his second straight double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. James added 16 points while also handing out four assists.

• Hughes led fours Bears in double figures with 18 points. Wall added 16 points while Jakubowski chipped in 11. Neylon also had a double-double as he scored 15 points and pulled 10 boards.  

Up Next

• Hopkins will take on 18^th-ranked Swarthmore on Saturday, February 26 in the Centennial Conference championship game. Tip-off at Goldfarb Gym is slated for 7:30 pm.