Box Score

ST. LOUIS, MO – Host Washington University got a double-double from Andrew Sanders en route to a 78-62 win over the Johns Hopkins men's basketball team in the championship game of the 32nd annual Lopata Classic. The Blue Jays slip to 1-2 in the first meeting between the former UAA opponents since 2000. The Bears improve to 3-0 as they win their 34th straight Lopata Classic game.

Trailing 36-24 with 1:44 to play in the half, senior Sam Gordon hit a layup to ignite a 10-1 run that bridged halftime and saw the deficit cut to three. Senior Gene Williams drained a three at the buzzer capitalizing on a Bears' turnover to make it a 37-32 game. Just 13 seconds into the second half, sophomore Kyle Doran drove the paint and scored a pair to make it a three-point game. The Bears ended the run with back-to-back buckets from David Schmelter and Luke Silverman-Lloyd to push the lead back to seven just 59 seconds later.

Doran cut the lead back to five with a bucket in the paint, but a Kevin Kucera layup kick-started a quick 8-2 burst that saw Wash U's lead balloon to 11 with 14:40 to play. Freshman Daniel Villa sandwiched a layup and a trip to the free throw line around a Sanders basket and the lead was single digits. The Bears came right back though with buckets from Jake Knupp and Sanders to push their lead to 11 at the 13:01-mark. That lead would eventually swell to as much as 18 as the home team's advantage did not dip to single digits for the remainder of the game.

Hopkins struck first, getting a free throw from senior Niko Kotoulas. But Wash U answered with 13 straight points, including 12 from downtown to push out to a 14-1 lead with 4:52 gone in the game. The Blue Jays began chipping away at the deficit, starting with a Villa dunk, and whittled the deficit to three with 8:28 to play. Sophomore Jesse Flannery and junior Max McKee sandwiched a Sam Gordon layup with three-pointers to cap the run.

Sanders converted an old-fashioned three-point play to double the Bears lead. Hopkins pulled back within four on a Doran jumper at the 7:45-mark. But once again Wash U had an answer, betting two free throws from Sanders and a triple from Clinton Hooks to stake the Bears to a 26-17 lead. The teams traded buckets and the lead was six after an Austin Vasiliadis three-pointer at 4:02. The Bears kept the Blue Jays at arm's length with six unanswered points to push their lead back to 12 just two minutes later. Hopkins put together one more run before the half that was punctuated by Williams' three-point buzzer beater.

Vasiliadis led the Blue Jays with 12 points, four assists and two steals to earn all-tournament team honors. Doran also finished in double figures, chipping in 10 points and four rebounds. Junior Ryan Curran also earned all-tournament team honors despite missing the championship game. Sanders was named the tournament MVP after an impressive 19-point, 17-rebound performance. He was one of four Bears to finish in double figures. Hooks added 16 points and six assists, while Silverman-Lloyd chipped in 14 and Schmelter had 13.

Hopkins returns to the East Coast and opens Centennial Conference play on Tuesday, November 24. Hopkins travels to the Battlefield to take on Gettysburg, with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 pm.