Nov. 19, 2011

Box Score | Photo Gallery

BALTIMORE, MD - Visiting Salisbury used a 19-9 run that spanned nearly eight minutes in the second half to pull away for a 60-49 win over Johns Hopkins in the championship game of the Pride of Maryland Tournament Saturday at Goldfarb Gym. The Blue Jays suffer their first loss of the season and fall to 2-1, while the Sea Gulls win their third straight to take home their first Pride of Maryland Championship.

Hopkins cut the deficit to three after a layup from sophomore Aleksandar Nikolic with 10:49 to play. The Sea Gulls answered with six straight points to push their lead to 43-34. Freshman George Bugarinovic answered with a bucket in the paint and then junior Mike Rhoads hit one from downtown to make it a five-point game. Salisbury once again answered, this time with a 12-4 run as five different players scored during the run, to give SU a 56-43 lead with just under three minutes to play. That would do it for the Blue Jays, as they could get no closer than nine over the closing minutes.

Salisbury used a 9-0 run to open the game, thanks in part to six Hopkins turnovers, in the opening seven minutes. Nikolic finally got the Jays on the board and ended the scoring drought at 13:09. He would score eight straight points for Hopkins. After a pair of Mike Maczko free throws gave Salisbury an 18-11 lead with 6:33 to play in the opening half, junior Alex Pandrangi sank four consecutive free throws and then scored on a hook-shot in the paint to make it a three-point game at 2:29. Salisbury would close the half with five straight points to take a 25-17 lead into the locker room.

Hopkins came out much stronger to start the second half, using a 13-5 run to tie the game at 30-30 just over five minutes into the second stanza. Junior Adam Spengler fueled the run with six points. Elijah Gore ended the run with a bucket from downtown, followed by a Jason Nwosu layup and the Sea Gulls led 35-30. The teams traded buckets over the next two minutes as the Blue Jays kept the game close. Salisbury would pull away with that decisive 19-9 run however to beat Hopkins for the first time in five tries in the Pride of Maryland Tournament.

Nikolic led the Blue Jays with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting with four rebounds and two blocks. Bugarinovic had eight points with three boards and two blocks. Bugarinovic and sophomore Daniel Corbett were named to the All-Tournament Team for Hopkins. Salisbury was led by Maczko with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Gore chipped in 10 points. Devin Posey, who earned MVP honors, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds while chipping in six points and two assists. Also earning All-Tournament Team honors for the Sea Gulls were Maczko and Mike Atkins.

Hopkins shot 45.0 percent from the field, compared to 42.6 by Salisbury, but the Sea Gulls dominated the glass, winning the rebound battle, 40-18.

Hopkins returns to action and opens Centennial Conference play on Tuesday, November 22 as Haverford visits Goldfarb Gym. Tip off is slated for 8:00 pm.