BALTIMORE, MD –
Charlie Jackson scored a game-high 24 points to lead Johns Hopkins to a 76-67 win over Marymount in the season opener Friday night. The Blue Jays open the season with a win for the third straight year.
Hopkins scored the game's first eight points and led 16-5 just six and a half minutes in. Jackson fueled the opening run with seven points, while the Blue Jays forced the Saints into five turnovers. After a
Nick Klaiber jumper gave the Blue Jays' that early 11-point lead, James Bell drained a three-pointer to spark a 10-7 burst and Hopkins led 23-15 midway through the first.
The Blue Jays answered with an 11-6 run, led by
Wyatt Eglinton Manner's five points, and capped by a
Will Stevenson layup at 3:32 to go up 34-21. The Saints trimmed the deficit to seven just 87 seconds later with six unanswered points. The teams traded three-point spurts and it was 37-30 Hopkins with 11 ticks on the clock. Klaiber had the final say of the half, draining a jumper from the elbow to send the Blue Jays into the half with a 39-30 lead.
Marymount came out firing to start the second half, using an 8-2 run to pull within three at the 16:15-mark. A
Tanti Felli layup ignited a 12-4 run as the Blue Jays pushed their lead back to double digits at 53-42 with 11:40 to play. The Saints wouldn't go away however. Reuben McEachern scored eight points to fuel a 12-4 Marymount run as the visitors sliced the deficit to just three. McEachern had the final six points of the run and it was 57-54 with 8:27 to play.
Hopkins came right and pushed the lead back to nine with 2:32 to play. Marymount had one last push left, pulling within five with 46 seconds on the clock. That's as close as the Saints could get as the Blue Jays sealed the win at the free throw line.
Jackson finished with 24 points, one shy of his career high, to go with six rebounds, three assists and four steals. Klaiber added 13 points, going 5-of-6 from the field, and handing out three assists.
Logan Feller scored a career-high 10 points and dished a game-high five assists. Williams also chipped in 10 points to round out five Blue Jays in double figures. McEachern led the Saints with 17 points, while Carl Highsmith, Jr. added 16 points and six rebounds.
Hopkins returns to action on Tuesday, November 11 as the Blue Jays travel to York. The non-conference contest is scheduled for a 7:00 pm tip.
