ALLENTOWN, PA – Tom Quarry and Carson James combined for 41 points to lead 13^th-ranked Johns Hopkins to a 77-65 win at Muhlenberg Saturday afternoon.
 
The Blue Jays win their fourth straight as they improve to 14-3 overall and 8-2 in the Centennial Conference. The Mules fall to 11-6 on the season and 6-4 in the conference. JHU remains alone in second place as the second half of the conference slate began today.
 
With the game tied at 42 with 13:15 to play in the second, Brian Johansson drained a jumper to spark a 13-3 run. Quarry fueled the run with three triples as Hopkins pushed out to a 55-45 lead at the 8:53-mark. Luke Gordos and Dan Gaines sandwiched scores around a Quarry free throw and it was an eight-point game just 64 seconds later.
 
Jayden Nixon pushed the lead back to double digits with a bucket in the paint. Sidney Thybulle scored on a put-back and then Nixon followed with an old-fashioned three-point play and JHU led 64-49 with 4:18 to go. The Mules responded with an 11-5 spurt to make it a nine-point game with 1:25 on the clock. That's as close as they would get however as the Blue Jays sealed the win at the free throw line.
 
The first half was tightly contested as the lead changed hands eight times in the opening 10 minutes. Trailing 17-16, James made back-to-back layups, followed by a Johansson triple and just like that the Blue Jays led by six 69 nine seconds later. Gaines pulled Muhlenberg back within four with a jumper, but James and Nixon combined for seven straight points to stake JHU to a 29-19 lead with 5:45 to play in the first.
 
The double-digit lead was short-lived. A Charlie Gillikin three-pointer ignited a 10-3 run that saw the Mules trim the lead to three with 1:32 to go. Quarry halted the run with a pair of free throws, but a Tommy McQuire tip-in once again made it a three-point game. John Windley made a basket in the paint and the defense got a stop on the other end and Hopkins took a 36-31 lead into the half.
 
Muhlenberg came out firing to the start second, scoring seven straight points to take a 38-36 lead on a Giovanni Rubino layup at 17:05. Back-to-back buckets from James and Nixon put Hopkins up two. Rubino answered with a three-pointer to make it 41-40 Mules, but James came right back with a layup for the Jays. McGuire then hit one of two shots from the line to make it a 42-42 game midway through the half. That set up that 13-3 run as the Blue Jays took control of the game.
 
Quarry led the Blue Jays with 22 points, with 12 of those coming from downtown, and also grabbed six rebounds. James scored 19 points, while Windley added 12 points and four boards. Nixon finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Sidney Thybulle had a game-high eight rebounds as the Blue Jays outrebounded the Mules 40-28. Rubino scored a game-high 24 points to pace the Mules. Gaines added 16 points as the only other player in double figures.
 
Hopkins returns to action on Thursday, January 26 against Gettysburg. Tip-off at Goldfarb Gym is slated for 7:00 pm.
 
Notes: Thybulle now sits alone in 15^th place in school history with 61 career blocks • He moved past Washington Wizards' head coach Wes Unseld Jr., who had 60 career blocks.