BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins men's basketball team used a 10-1 run early in the second half to turn a 35-35 tie into a 45-36 lead with just over 16 minutes remaining and the Blue Jays never allowed visiting Hamilton to make it a one-possession game again as the Blue Jays knocked off the Continentals, 81-71, in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament Saturday evening in Goldfarb Gymnasium.
 
With the win, the Blue Jays advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015 and the third time in program history.  In addition, Johns Hopkins tied the program record for single-season victories as the Jays are now 25-4 on the year.  Hamilton finishes its season at 20-9.
 
After the teams battled to a 30-all tie at halftime and evenly split the first 10 points of the second half, the Blue Jays got a three-pointer from graduate student Jayden Nixon at the 17:37 mark to ignite the 10-1 run.  Carson James followed with a triple of his own 29 seconds later and then ended the spree with the second of his four second-half three-pointers with just under 16 minutes remaining to give the Blue Jays a 45-36 lead.
 
Hamilton scored the next five points as Eric Anderson knocked one down from deep and Hank Morgan hit a short jumper to slice the deficit to 45-41, but Hopkins responded with an 9-0 run that extended the lead to 54-41.  James again was the catalyst as his driving layup started the spree and his three-pointer from the wing ended it with just under 11 minutes on the clock.
 
The Blue Jays held the lead in double figures for the next three minutes and were up 61-50 before Hamilton made one final push.  An Anderson triple, a driving layup from Conner Rood and back-to-back layups from Owen Kane and Anderson helped pull the Continentals to within four at 63-59, but sophomore John Windley hit a clutch three-pointer of his own shortly after the clock ticked under the five-minute mark to halt the 9-2 run.
 
A minute after draining that three-pointer, Windley hit all three free throws after drawing a foul while attempting a three-pointer from the corner to push the lead to 69-61.  Down the stretch, the Continentals pushed the pace, but were forced to foul late and the Blue Jays hit 10-of-14 from the line to seal the victory and a date with Wisconsin-Whitewater in the round of 16.
 
An evenly-played first half saw six lead changes and four ties.  Both teams led by as many as five in the opening 20 minutes, but the difference was never more than a basket in the final three minutes and a pair of Lincoln Yeutter free throws for the Blue Jays with seven seconds remaining before the break tied things up.  That set the stage for the 10-1 run early in the second half that gave the Blue Jays a lead they would never relinquish.
 
James paced the Blue Jays with a career-high 26 points as he was 10-of-17 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, and added four rebounds and three assists.
 
Nixon was one of three other Blue Jays who scored in double figures as he added 14 points and eight rebounds, while Brian Johansson (13) and Windley (1) joined Nixon and James with 10 or more points.  Senior Sidney Thybulle added five points, eight rebounds and four blocks and helped the Blue Jays to a 40-33 advantage on the glass.
 
Anderson led Hamilton with 16 points and six rebounds, while Morgan added 14 points and six boards and Rood was good for 12 points and five rebounds.  The Continentals hit just 7-of-24 (.292) shots from three-point range, while the Blue Jays were an efficient 8-of-15 (.533) from beyond the arc.
 
The date and location of the Johns Hopkins-Wisconsin-Whitewater game will be announced on Sunday (March 5).  The other game in that sectional will feature defending national champion Randolph-Macon and Oswego State.