Nov. 29, 2008

Box Score

STEVENSON, MD - Junior forward Adam Baumgartner led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points and Johns Hopkins held Salisbury to just 17 second-half points as the Blue Jays slipped past the Sea Gulls, 54-47, in the 2008 Provident Pride of Maryland semifinals Saturday evening. The Blue Jays advance to the championship game for the third time in four years and will play the winner of the St. Mary's-Washington semifinal.

Hopkins led 31-30 at the half and stretched the one-point advantage to nine at 45-36 with a 14-6 run in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. Back-to-back jumpers by junior Pat O'Connell jump-started the run, which also included a pair of layups by senior Collin Kamm and a layup by Baumgartner with 9:47 remaining to cap the spree.

The Blue Jays (3-1) pushed the lead to 10 (47-37) on a jumper by Phil Beggans 90 seconds later, but Salisbury made its inevitable run and sliced the deficit to four at 47-43 with a jumper by Devin Jones, a pair of free throws by Chris McGrew and a layup by Brandon Abney in an 80-second span a short time later. Abney's layup with 5:24 remaining would mark the last points the Sea Gulls would score until less than a minute remained.

Salisbury would miss five consecutive shots, while the Blue Jays got a jumper from O'Connell and a layup and a dunk from Baumgartner over the next four minute to put the game away. Salisbury got a free throw from Matt DeLizio and a three-pointer from Luther Weedon in the final minute, but the Blue Jay defense forced the `Gulls into 6-for-32 shooting in the second half to secure its spot in the championship game.

In a back-and-forth first half that saw 14 lead changes and four ties, it was Hopkins that carried the one-point lead into the break. Salisbury grabbed a 17-14 lead on a layup by DeLizio and a three-pointer by Abney midway through the half, but a layup by Beggans and a three-pointer by Ryan Purcell gave the Blue Jays a 20-17 lead with 8:18 remaining.

Salisbury would take a three-point lead again late in the first half (28-25), but the Blue Jays got a layup and a pair of free throws from Baumgartner and two free throws from sophomore Mike Henrici in the final 3:19 to grab the one-point halftime lead.

Baumgartner's 14 points were a game-high and he added six rebounds while hitting 6-of-8 shots from the floor. O'Connell and Henrici added nine points apiece for the Blue Jays, who held a 35-32 rebounding advantage.

DeLizio scored a team-high 10 points for Salisbury, but the Sea Gulls hit just 19-of-57 shots from the floor, including just 3-of-19 from three-point range.

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