BALTIMORE, MD – Fourth-ranked Christopher Newport used a couple of double-digit runs to take control of the game en route to a 74-61 win over host and 10th-ranked Johns Hopkins Wednesday night in both teams' season opener.
Hopkins jumped out to a 9-0 lead, capped by a Will Sykes layup, to spark a Christopher Newport timeout just three and a half minutes in. Jahn Hines hit a jumper in the paint, followed by a Rodney Graves' three and just like that the lead was down to four. Sophomore John Windley made it an 11-5 game with a layup, Hines answered with two free throws to kick start a 15-2 run. He and Ty Henderson combined for 13 points to fuel the run as the Captains went up 20-13 with 5:17 to go in the first.
The teams traded buckets over the ensuing four minutes and CNU led 30-24. Jake Latta and Hines drained back-to-back triples to push the lead to 12 with just eight ticks on the clock. Senior Carson James closed out the first with a jumper from the elbow to make it a 36-26 game at the break.
Senior Sidney Thybulle and graduate student Ethan Bartlett sandwiched layups around two Trey Barber free throws to make it an eight-point game 70 seconds into the second. Hines then hit a floater just outside the paint to spark a 10-2 run that saw the Captains' lead grow to 16 just three minutes later. The Blue Jays answered with six straight points to trim the deficit to 10, but once again the Captains answered. A 12-4 CNU run, punctuated by a Barber bucket in the paint, gave the visitors a 60-42 lead with 8:16 to play.
Coming out of a Hopkins timeout, graduate student Tom Quarry hit a three from the wing, igniting an eight-point spurt. Quarry capped the spurt with a put-back under the basket and the lead was down to 10 at the 5:34-mark. Christopher Newport came right back with eight unanswered points in an 80-second span and that would seal the win.
Quarry led the Blue Jays with 11 points, to go with six rebounds. James added 10 points, four assists and five boards. Thybulle grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, chipped in eight points and three blocks. Bartlett added 11 rebounds and four assists. Hines led all scorers with 29 points while Barber had a double double with 12 points and 12 boards, along with seven blocks. Henderson also finished in double digits with 10 points.
Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, November 12 at Salisbury. Tip-off is set for 5:00 pm for the non-conference contest.