Box Score

READING, PA -- Unbeaten and 17th-ranked Susquehanna got all it could handle from the Johns Hopkins men's basketball team in a 72-64 win Tuesday afternoon in the opening game of the Crowne Plaza Holiday Tournament at Albright College. The Blue Jays fall to 2-5 on the season while the Crusaders remain undefeated at 10-0.

Hopkins took an early three-point lead after back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore Jesse Flannery gave the Blue Jays a 9-6 lead at the 14:17-mark. Susquehanna answered with layups from Brandon Hedley and Ryan Traub to spark a 10-0 run that staked the Crusaders to a seven-point lead less than four minutes later. Senior Sam Gordon ended the run with a pair of free throws, but Traub hit a bucket from close range to push Susquehanna up 18-11 with 9:18 to go in the half.

Junior Nikhil Panu and Flannery then sandwiched triples around a Tyler Hoagland bucket and the lead was three. Flannery then drained two free throws and Susquehanna led by just one point, 20-19, with 5:29 on the clock. The Crusaders responded with a Jeff Dzierzawiec jumper and consecutive three-pointers from Steven Weidlich and Hedley to push their lead back to nine in a span of just 84 seconds. Hopkins twice cut the deficit to five in the final 3:16 of the half, but Susquehanna got back-to-back buckets from Traub and Hoagland in the final 22 seconds to take a 36-27 lead at the half.

Coming out of the break, the Crusaders pushed their lead to as many as 10 in the opening 5:22. But the Blue Jays weren't going away. Senior Gene Williams nailed a three-pointer at the 14:13-mark to ignite a quick seven-point run that saw the lead trimmed to three in just 62 seconds. Susquehanna pushed its lead back to six with 10:27 to go. The Traub-Gordon show then heated up as the two combined to score 21 of the next 25 points for their two teams. Gordon converted a fast-break layup with 4:27 to play, to make Susquehanna's lead 61-58.

Josh Miller doubled the lead on the other end however, draining a three from the corner. But Flannery answered with a three of his own and it was 64-61 with 4:08 to go. Traub pushed the lead back to five with a pair of free throws, but a Williams triple sliced the lead to just two with 2:28 on the clock. Weidlich hit from downtown on the next possession and Susquehanna went up 69-64. The Blue Jays were unable to convert on their next three possessions and the Crusaders would hit three of four free throws to seal the win.

Making his first career start, Flannery punched up a career-best 14 points and five assists in 33 minutes. Gordon also finished with a career high, scoring all 13 of his 15 points in the second half. Senior Matt Billups had a career-high five blocks and now ranks 10th in school history with 75 career blocks. He also grabbed seven rebounds while classmate Niko Kotoulas tied his career-high with eight boards. Traub led the Crudaers with 24 points, while Weidlich had 16 and Hedley added 10 points.

Hopkins will take on Alfred in the consolation game of the Crowne Plaza Holiday Tournament. Tip-off is set for 2:00 pm on Wednesday at the Bollman Center.