Feb. 24, 2007

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins men's basketball team won its school record 22nd game Saturday afternoon in an 80-73 win over Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference Semifinals. The win was the 350th at Hopkins for head coach Bill Nelson. Senior forward Danny Nawrocki (Syosset, NY/Chaminade) led the Blue Jays effort with his 35th career double-double.

The first 10 minutes of the game were tightly contested as the team's traded the lead back-and-forth. Trailing 14-13 at 10:41 after a jumper by the Bullets Corey Dorsey, senior T.J. Valerio (Blue Bell, PA/St. Joseph's Prep) drained a three-pointer giving Hopkins a 16-14 lead. The Blue Jays would not trail for the remainder of the game. Valerio's trey started a quick 9-0 run as Hopkins pushed out to a 22-14 lead.

Dorsey halted the run with two free throws for Gettysburg, but Hopkins came right back with a lay-up from senior forward Matt Griffin (Glen Mills, PA/Penncrest). Brian Sateja answered Griffin's lay-up with a lay-up of his own making it 24-16. The next time down the floor, freshman Patrick O'Connell (Baltimore, MD/Loyola Blakefield) nailed a trey kicking off a 9-0 run as the Blue Jays pushed their lead to 15 points. The Bullets closed the half on a 9-2 run, converting seven of eight free throws and a jumper from Julius Redd. Hopkins went into the break with a 35-27 lead.

The Blue Jays opened the half with seven quick points from Griffin and sophomore Collin Kamm (Avon, NJ/Saint Rose), moving out to a 15-point lead at 42-27. Hopkins maintained its double-digit lead until a three-pointer from Mike Beck at 12:32 made it a nine-point game. Free throws by O'Connell and Kamm and a tip-in by senior Zack Armen (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) and the Blue Jays were back up by 14.

Gettysburg continued to chip away seven points from Joe Spierenburg and Chris Nevolo. Once again Hopkins responded to the Bullets' run, as Griffin punched up five quick points for the Jays. Each team had an answer for the other, as the Bullets could get no closer than six points with 1:25 remaining. Hopkins went 12-of-16 in the final 73 seconds to seal the win in front of 1,654 fans at Goldfarb Gym.

Nawrocki finished with a game-high 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Griffin punched up 15 and Valerio finished with 14 for the Jays. Dorsey led four Bullets in double figures with 19 points. Hopkins dominated on the boards, outrebounding Gettysburg 43-29.

Hopkins will now face Haverford on Sunday in the Centennial Conference Championship. Tip-off is set for 3:00 pm at Goldfarb Gym. The winner will receive the conference's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.