Dec. 30, 2010

Box Score

ASHLAND, VA - In its first action in nearly three weeks, the Johns Hopkins men's basketball team showed no signs of rust in the first half. But it was a different story in the second as Averett turned it up in the second stanza to beat Hopkins, 77-71, in the first game of the Randolph-Macon Coaches Classic Thursday evening. The Blue Jays drop their second straight to fall to 2-6 overall, while the Cougars snap a 10-game losing streak and move to 2-10.

Hopkins trailed just 28 seconds into the game after Averett's Justin Pierce made one of two free throws. The Blue Jays came right back with a jumper from senior John Alberici as he and classmate Mike Henrici combined for the team's first 11 points. The Blue Jays led 14-10 at 11:46 after four straight points from Henrici, but the Cougars back-to-back buckets from Kenny Hart and Steven Terry to tie the game less than two minutes later.

Rhoads put Hopkins back on top with the first of three first half triples and ignited a quick 9-2 run as the Blue Jays pushed out to a 23-16 lead. A Pierce three-pointer cut the deficit back to four, but freshman Aleksandar Nikolic came right back with a bucket off the glass, followed by a triple from Rhoads and Hopkins' lead was nine. The Cougars would cut it back to six twice, but each time Rhoads had an answer. Hopkins closed the half on a 10-6 run, punctuated by a three with 23.2 seconds on the clock to give the Blue Jays a 40-29 lead at the break.

Averett came out of the lockerroom on fire, connecting on nine of its first 13 shots as the Cougars opened the half on a 20-7 run. Marquis Scott fueled the run, scoring 10 of the Cougars' 20 points in the half's first eight minutes. Scott turned a Mitchell Smith steal into a layup to tie the game at 47-47 with 12:19 to play. Justin Pierce then gave Averett its first lead since the opening minute of the game with a jumper 40 seconds later.

Rhoads answered with his first bucket of the second half to tie the game. The deadlock didn't last long as Chris Phelps hit the front end of a pair of free throws to give Averett the lead again. Phelps' free throw kick-started a 13-3 lead that saw Averett's lead grow to 10 with 8:21 to play. The Blue Jays began chipping away at the deficit thanks to their free throw shooting. Hopkins went 10-of-12 from the line over the next three minutes, coupled with a three pointer from freshman Daniel Corbett and the deficit was down to one with 4:48 on the clock.

Kenny Hart pushed the lead back to three with a pair of free throws for the Cougars but a bucket from downtown by junior Tim McCarty tied the game at 68 apiece at 4:13. Scott put Averett back on top with a layup, but a pair of free throws from McCarty tied the game once again. Scott and the Cougars came right back as his jumper with 2:04 to play started a 7-1 game-ending run as Averett held on for its first win since November 15.

Rhoads finished with a game and career-high 21 points. He was perfect from the floor in the first half, going 5-of-5 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the free throw line for a then career-high 17 points. Alberici went a career-best 6-of-8 from the free throw line to finish with 16 points, while Henrici chipped in 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Scott led four Cougars' in double-digits with a team-high 16 points. Hart added 15 points, while Victor Cortes had 12 and Pierce chipped in 10. Pierce nearly recorded a double-double, pulling down a game-high nine boards to go with his 10 points.

Hopkins shot 45.8 percent for the game, though just 33.3 percent in the second half. Averett meanwhile, shot 49.2 percent for the game, including a hot 58.1 percent in the second.

Hopkins returns to action on Friday, December 31, facing 11th-ranked Randolph-Macon in the RMC Coaches Classic. Tip-off from Crenshaw Gymnasium is slated for 4:00 pm.