Jan. 23, 2012

Box Score

WESTMINSTER, MD - Juniors Alex Pandrangi and Mike Rhoads combined for 27 second-half points to lead Johns Hopkins in a comeback that fell just short in a 71-66 loss at McDaniel Monday night in Centennial Conference action. The Blue Jays (10-7, 6-4 CC) trailed by 19 at the half and battled back to within two before falling to the Green Terror (6-11, 3-7 CC).

Hopkins came out firing to start the second, scoring 12 unanswered points to make it a seven-point game just three minutes in. Freshman George Bugarinovic got things going with a pair from the free throw line, followed by a Jaraad Rogers drive to the basket and finish. Junior Adam Spengler cashed in on two shots from the charity stripe and Rhoads drained back-to-back threes and McDaniel's lead was down to 43-36.

The Green Terror called timeout to try and stem the tide and it worked. Louisi Sarrs-Grau got a bucket in the paint to kick-start an 11-2 run that saw McDaniel push its lead back to 16 at the 12 minute mark. Five different Green Terror players scored during the spree that was capped by a pair of free throws by Woody Butler. The teams traded buckets over the ensuing four minutes as the Green Terror led 58-44 with 8:17 on the clock.

The Blue Jays answered with an 8-0 spurt, with Pandrangi and Rhoads combining for all eight points, to cut it six with six minutes to play. Sarris-Grau pushed the lead back to nine with a triple, but Spengler answered with one of his own. The teams went back-and-forth, with each side answering the other's bucket. Trailing by eight, senior Tim McCarty hit a pair of free throws followed by a Rhoads three-pointer and it was a one-possession game with 2:20 to play.

Sarris-Grau, who struggled from the free throw line all game, hit one-of-two free throws on the Terror's next possession. But Pandrangi answered with a bucket in the paint and the lead was just two with 1:35. Sarris-Grau wasn't done yet, putting in two off the glass on the next trip down the floor and the lead was back to four. Hopkins couldn't convert on its next possession and was forced to foul. It paid off as Sarris-Grau missed both his shots from the line and Pandrangi hit a baseline jumper with 18 seconds to play to make it a 68-66 game.

Once again, Hopkins fouled and once again it worked as Tyler Rudd missed a pair from the charity stripe and Pandrangi corralled the rebound. Rhoads had a chance to tie the game with just 10 seconds to play, but his lay-up missed the mark and Sarris-Grau grabbed the rebound and was fouled. This time he made one of two and on the ensuing possession, sophomore Daniel Corbett was called for a travel before getting off a three-point shot attempt with just three ticks on the clock. Doug Macrone would seal the win at the line as he sank both of his free throws with 0.9 seconds to play.

The first half was a different story. Leading 10-7 after a 12-foot jumper from sophomore Aleksandar Nikolic, the Green Terror went on an 11-0 run, punctuated by a jumper in the paint by Evan Pupelis that made it a 21-7 game at 10:27. Hopkins chipped the deficit back down to 10 with consecutive buckets from Pandrangi, but following a Phillip Perry tip-in, Sarris-Grau would score 10 straight points for the Green Terror to help them to a 14-point lead with just over four minutes left in the half. Pandrangi hit another layup to make it 33-21, but McDaniel would answer with 10-2 spurt to end the half and take a 43-24 lead into the break.

Pandrangi led the Blue Jays with a career-high 20 points as he went 8-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the line. Rhoads added 16 points on a career-high-tying five three-pointers and Spengler chipped in 10. Sarris-Grau poured in 27 points, going 12-of-19 from the field, but was just 2-of-10 from the line. He was the only Green Terror player in double figures. Hopkins shot 46.8 percent from the field, including 53.8 percent from three-point, and was 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe. McDaniel was just a little better from the floor, shooting 51.9 percent for the game and 50.0 percent from three, but was just 41.7 percent from the line (10-fo-24).

Hopkins returns to action on Wednesday, January 25 as the Blue Jays travel to ninth-ranked Franklin & Marshall. Tip from the Mayser Center is set for 8:00 pm.