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BALTIMORE, MD - Visiting Alvernia shot 50 percent from the field en route to a 63-59 win over Johns Hopkins in non-conference men's basketball action Wednesday night. The Blue Jays suffer their first loss of the season as they fall to 2-1 while the Crusaders improve to 2-1 with the win.

Junior Niko Kotoulas scored a bucket in the paint to give Johns Hopkins a 43-37 lead with 14:20 to play in the game. Harrison Deyo answered for Alvernia on the other end to ignite a quick 13-0 Crusaders' run that saw the visitors take a 50-43 lead just over three minutes later. Alex Shippen fueled the run with seven straight points midway through and Deyo capped it with a pair of free throws at 11:08. Hopkins answered with a six-point burst, to cut the deficit to one with 7:56 to play.

Deyo answered with a layup followed by a Charles Cooper free throw 40 seconds later and the lead was back to four. The teams traded trips to the line before four straight points from junior Austin Vasiliadis tied the game at 54 with 4:47 to play. Alvernia once again answered, this time with five free throws on four straight possessions to take a five-point lead with just over two minutes on the clock.

A pair of free throws from senior Jimmy Hammer and a Vasiliadis three-point play, sandwiched around a Deyo bucket and the lead was down to two with 33 seconds left. But that would be as close as Hopkins could get as Alvernia got one free throw each from Lamont Clark and Deyo in the final 19 seconds to secure the win.

The Crusaders jumped out to a four-point lead before a Hammer jumper kick-started an 11-1 run for the Blue Jays. Senior Omar Randall punctuated the run with a pull-up jumper in the paint to give Hopkins an 11-5 lead. Mike Miller cut the deficit in half with a three-point play on the ensuing possession, but Hammer pushed it back to six with a bucket from downtown at the 12:18-mark.

Clark put back a missed Miller shot to spark a 9-2 Crusaders' run that saw the visitors take a 17-16 lead. Hopkins came right back with six unanswered points to go up 22-17 with 4:56 to play. The teams traded buckets and Hopkins led 29-27 at the half. The Blue Jays pushed their lead to six coming out of the locker room, but the Crusaders kept it close and tying the game at 36-all with 16:43 on the clock. Junior Matt Billups put Hopkins back on top with a layup and then Hammer made it a five-point game with a three-pointer. Kotoulas then followed a Shippen free throw with a layup and the Jays led 43-37.

Hammer led three Blue Jays in double figures with 14 points and a pair of steals. Senior George Bugarinovic just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Vasiliadis added 10 points while handing out a game-high six assists. Deyo led the Crusaders with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Clark added 16 points and 11 rebounds while Shippen finished with 14 points.

Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, November 22 as the Blue Jays travel to Collegeville, PA to take on the Ursinus Bears in both teams' Centennial Conference opener. Tip-off at Helferrich Hall is slated for 3:00 pm.