Jan. 13, 2009

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Johns Hopkins won its sixth straight game on Tuesday night in thrilling fashion, rallying from a 10-point deficit with just under seven minutes to play to win 62-61. The Blue Jays improve to 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the Centennial Conference, while the Red Devils slip to 6-4 overall and 1-4 in the conference.

Trailing 55-45 with 6:385 to play, freshman Leland O'Connor (Philadelphia, PA/William Penn Charter) hit a lay-up to spark a 14-1 Hopkins run, punctuated by back-to-back three-pointers by junior Pat O'Connell (Baltimore, MD/Loyola Blakefield) and freshman Tim McCarty (Warrington, PA/Germantown Academy). Junior Andrew Farber-Miller (Charlottesville, VA/St. Anne's-Belfield) capped the run with a baseline jumper, prompting a Red Devils timeout with the Blue Jays on top 59-56.

Cory Kenny kissed one off the glass coming out of the time out to make it a 59-58 game with just 1:36 to play. Still a one-point game with 38 ticks on the clock, Dickinson was forced to foul, sending senior Scott Weisenfeld (Mt. Kisco, NY/Horace-Greeley) to the line for a one-and-one. He missed the front end and the Red Devils' Timothy Crouch controlled the rebound. But after a pair of missed lay-ups on the other end of the court and a defensive rebound by Farber-Miller, the Red Devils were forced to foul again. Farber-Miller went to the line to shoot two with just 9.9 seconds on the clock. He missed the first, but made the second to give Hopkins a 60-58 lead.

On the ensuing possession, Kizmahr Grell lost the ball out of bounds with just 5.4 ticks left, giving the ball back to Hopkins. Weisenfeld was once again fouled and this time drained both of his free throws with 3.7 remaining to push the lead to four. The Red Devils in-bounded the ball and Pat Kearns drained a three from the top of the key as time expired but it would not be enough to force overtime.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw five lead changes and eight ties. Trailing 26-24 with 5:42 to play in the half, the Red Devils went on a 10-2 run to take a 34-28 led into the lockerroom. Mike Aron ignited the run when he nailed a 21-footer to give Dickinson its first lead in nearly six minutes. The Red Devils pushed its lead to six, reeling off five more unanswered points. Weisenfeld hit lay-up with 50 seconds left to cut it back to four, but Kenny answered with a lay-up for the Devils to end the half.

Weisenfeld led the Blue Jays with a game-high 15 points, while Farber-Miller posted his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 boards, while also blocking a career-high four shots. It is the 11th straight game he's finished in double-digits in scoring. O'Connell dished a game-high four assists with three steals. The Red Devils were led by Kenny and Grell, with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Hopkins returns to action on Thursday evening when the Blue Jays travel to Allentown, PA to take on the Muhlenberg Mules. Tip-off from Memorial Hall is slated for 8:00 pm.