Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Visiting and 14th-ranked Dickinson got 19 points and 15 rebounds from MVP Gerry Wixted en route to a 65-62 win over host and 11th-ranked Johns Hopkins in the Centennial Conference title game Saturday night at Goldfarb Gym. The Blue Jays slip to 23-4 and will await a possible at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Red Devils win their second title in three years and earn the CC's automatic qualifier to the NCAAs.

This one was tightly contested from the opening tip as the lead changed hands twice, there were three ties and neither team led by more than six in the game's first 14 minutes. Hopkins jumped out to a six-point lead on back-to-back buckets by senior Jimmy Hammer, including a three-pointer at the 13:23-mark. After a Dickinson timeout, the visitors answered with a 9-0 run to go up 17-14 on a Robert Picka layup with 9:18 to play in the half. A Gene Williams' three-pointer tied the game and the teams then traded trips to the free throw line and it was tied at 19 less than a minute later.

The Red Devils retook the lead on a Brandon Angradi pull-up jumper at 8:02 and as it turned out, they would never relinquish the lead. That basket sparked a 13-3 run as Dickinson pushed out to a 10-point lead at the 4:51 mark after an Angradi fast-break three. Senior Omar Randall answered with a three on the other end to make it a seven-point game. Following a Picka layup that gave Dickinson a 34-25 lead, Curran got a basket in the paint then hit two free throws to trim the deficit to five. Wixted answered with a layup, but a Curran three made it a 36-32 game at the break.

Both teams hit threes coming out of the half and the lead was just four before a Wixted free throw and a Ted Hinnenkamp bucket pushed the lead to seven. Hopkins came right back with a 7-2 spurt, capped by a Randall three and the lead was two with 14:27 to play. The lead seesawed up and down, as the Blue Jays could get no closer than two. The Red Devils scored six unanswered points just past the midway point to push out to a nine-point lead at the 6:46-mark. Hopkins wasn't going away and battled back to make it a three-point game on a Curran triple with 1:43 to play. The Blue Jays twice got stops on defense in the final 75 seconds, but could not find the tying bucket as the Red Devils hung on.

Curran led the Blue Jays with 17 points while grabbing six boards. Randall and junior Austin Vasiliadis also finished in double figures with 11 points each, while Hammer had nine points and four assists. Senior George Bugarinovic grabbed eight rebounds and handed out a game-high six assists. Wixted finished with game-highs of 19 points and 15 rebounds while also blocking three shots. Hinnenkamp punched up 13 points and Angradi added 11 points, all in the first half.

Hopkins will now await the announcement of the 2015 NCAA Tournament field, which is scheduled for release on Monday, March 2 at 12:30 pm. Fans can watch the selection show here: http://www.ncaa.com/live/player?vid=2015/1903&date=2015/03/02