Feb. 19, 2005

Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, PA - Mike McGarvey scored all eight of Ursinus? points in over time including what proved to be the game-winning three with 1:09 remaining to lead Ursinus over Johns Hopkins, 80-77 in Centennial Conference men?s basketball. The Bears improve 15-9 overall and 12-5 in conference play, while the Blue Jays fall to 14-9 and 11-6.

In overtime, sophomore T.J. Valerio (Blue Bell, PA/St. Joe?s) and the Blue Jays came out strong, nailing a three on the first possession to give the Blue Jays a 75-72 lead. After a defensive stop, junior Jeff Thompson (Binghamton, NY/Loomis Chaffee) hit a layup which saw the Blue Jays lead grow to 77-72. Those would be the last points the Blue Jays would score, as the Bears used an 8-0 run to end the game, and pick up the win. McGarvey did all the damage for Ursinus as he sandwiched two three around a layup. His layup at the 1:51 mark tied the game, and his three with 1:09 left put the Bears ahead for good. The Blue Jays misfired on two three-point attempts in the final 47 seconds, including an attempt by freshman Terence Coppola (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) as time expired.

Hopkins trailed 70-64 with 2:42 to go, and used a late 8-2 run to force the extra frame. Coppola ignited the run with a three with 2:42 to go. After senior Eric Toback (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. Hebron) hit a jumper, which cut the Ursinus lead 70-69, Nick Shattuck responded with a layup, putting Ursinus back up 72-69. Toback then hit a three with 51 seconds left to tie the game. McGarvey missed on two threes in the closing moments, while the Blue Jays never got a shot off in the final minutes.

Ursinus took a 38-33 lead in the first half, on the strenghts of Will Furey?s 16 first half points. With the game tied 12-12 5:28 in, the Bears went on a 12-0 run, which saw their lead grow to 24-12. Hopkins was able to hang around and scored the last four points of half to trim the Bear?s lead to 38-33.

Hopkins came out strong in the second half, and needed only two minutes to tie the game at 39-39, and a Valerio three at the 17:57 mark gave the Blue Jays a 42-41 lead, their first since early in the first half. The two teams battled in the half, as neither team was able to take a large lead, as the half saw seven ties and eight lead changes.

McGarvery lead the Bears with 14 points (eight in overtime), eight assists, six steals and four rebounds. Furey lead the Bears in scoring with 17 points, while Brian McEvily picked up 14. Toback had 20 points and seven rebounds in the loss for the Blue Jays, while sophomore Danny Nawrocki (Syosset, NY/Chaminade) posted his eighth double-double of the year with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Nawrocki?s 14 rebounds are his best of the year, and matches the Blue Jays best rebounding performance this year.

With the loss, the Blue Jays fall into a tie for fourth place in the conference with Haverford. Both teams have 11-6 records. Gettysburg, who defeated Swarthmore today, and Ursinus share second place with 12-5 records, while Franklin & Marshall, who plays tonight, is still in first place. The Blue Jays will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Franklin & Marshall for an 8 pm tip.

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