SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – The Johns Hopkins men's basketball team came up short on Saturday afternoon, falling to Susquehanna, 66-60, in its opening game of the Puerto Rico Clasico at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum. The loss drops the Blue Jays to 6-2 on the season, marking their first defeat since November 11.
Hopkins mounted a late push in the final two minutes, as
Charlie Jackson converted a pair of free throws and
Jeb Williams knocked down a three-pointer to trim a seven-point deficit to two with 1:16 remaining. The comeback attempt fell short, however, as Susquehanna (7-3) closed out the game to hand the Blue Jays their second loss of the season.
Scoring was at a premium early in the first half, as
Nick Klaiber converted an acrobatic and-one at the rim to give Hopkins an 11-10 edge with just under 10 minutes remaining. Susquehanna responded with a 5-0 run to regain the lead, before
Wyatt Eglinton Manner halted the momentum with a three-pointer.
The River Hawks answered immediately, as KJ Carson connected from long range to spark a 5-1 run that pushed Susquehanna's advantage to eight, 23-15, its largest of the half. Hopkins responded late in the period behind Jackson and Eglinton Manner, trimming the deficit to one after Jackson's free throws with 40 seconds remaining. A late Susquehanna layup sent the River Hawks into the break holding a 27-24 lead.
Hopkins opened the second half with a 5-0 run, capped by a
Logan Feller free throw that gave the Blue Jays their first lead since early in the first half, 29-27. Susquehanna countered with an 11-3 run over the next five minutes to reclaim control and build a 38-30 advantage.
An emphatic block from
Tanti Felli ignited a brief Hopkins surge, cutting the margin to three, but Carson again delivered for the River Hawks, knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to extend the lead to nine with under nine minutes to play. Susquehanna maintained its cushion down the stretch, answering each Hopkins push to keep the Blue Jays at bay.
Eglinton Manner led all scorers with 18 points, shooting 50 percent (4-of-8) from beyond the arc. Jackson finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double.
Johns Hopkins returns to action on Sunday, December 21, when it faces Illinois Tech to close out the Puerto Rico Clasico. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST inside the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum.
