BALTIMORE, MD – Visiting Eastern hung on to beat Johns Hopkins, 78-74, in non-conference action Tuesday night at Goldfarb Gym. The Blue Jays slip to 3-3 on the season while the Eagles improve to 5-2.
Charlie Jackson scored in the paint to tie the game at 71 with 1:31 to play and the Eagles came up empty on their ensuing possession. An Olise Onyeka block on the other end gave the ball back to Eastern and Zubair Lee drew a foul. He sank both shots to put Eastern up 73-71 with 38 ticks on the clock.
John Windley hit one of two free throws for the Blue Jays and Nick Mate did the same for the Eastern as the visitors led 74-72 with 18 seconds to go.
After a Hopkins turnover, Arkese Claiborne hit two free throws and the lead was four. Jackson cut it in half with a layup, but two free throws from Mate sealed the win for the Eagles.
Tied at four early, Windley drained a three to spark a quick 7-0 run as the Blue Jays pushed out to an 11-4 lead. The teams traded buckets over a two-minute span and Hopkins led 16-12. Windley hit a layup followed by a Jackson three-pointer and the lead was eight the 12:34-mark. Clairborne answered with a driving layup to spark a 12-4 run that saw Eastern tie the game five minutes later.
Luke Thorburn and
Wyatt Eglinton Manner sandwiched buckets around a DaRon Sherman layup and the Blue Jays led 28-26. Mate tied the game on the next possession with a jumper to ignite an 8-2 spurt that saw the Eagles go up 34-30 with 4:29 to play in the half. The teams traded runs to end the half and Hopkins led 39-38 at the break.
The start of the second half was much of the same until Eastern put together an 18-3 run over a four-minute span to push out to a 68-58 lead.
Will Stevenson and
Jeb Williams scored back-to-back buckets to stem the tide and spark a 13-3 run for the Blue Jays. Jackson capped the run with a bucket in the paint that tied the game at 71 with 1:31 on the clock.
Jackson led Hopkins with his first career double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to go with three assists. Windley added 17 points and two blocks. Johansson also finished in double figures with 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. Lee led Eastern with 17 points and seven boards. Sherman scored 14 points and added six rebounds. Claiborne chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds, while Mate added 12 points. Onyeka scored 11 points and blocked five shots.
Hopkins returns to action on Tuesday, December 3 at Hood. The non-conference contest is scheduled for a 7:00 pm start at Woodsboro Bank Arena.
