BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins men's basketball team jumped out to a 14-point first-half lead and held off a second-half Swarthmore rally as the Blue Jays topped the Garnet, 76-69, in a non-conference game in Goldfarb Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.  The Blue Jays and Garnet play each other once each season in a Centennial Conference game, but also meet once each season in a non-conference game.
 
The win is the fifth straight for the Blue Jays, who improve to 6-1 on the year.  Swarthmore dropped its second straight and slips to 5-3.
 
Johns Hopkins led just 12-10 after a Cal Hanson layup for the Garnet capped a quick 5-0 run that trimmed a 12-5 deficit to two as the clock dripped under the 12-minute mark.
 
A Nick Klaiber jumper 20 seconds later ignited a 14-2 Blue Jay spurt that extended the lead to a game-high 14 (26-12) with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half.  Five different Blue Jays scored during the run with back-to-back triples from Logan Feller and Jeb Williams and a Williams layup in a 60-second span capping the spurt.
 
A six-point Swarthmore run that included all six points from Hanson on a three-pointer and a traditional three-point play trimmed the deficit to 26-18, but the Blue Jay lead would hold between eight and 14 points over the final six minutes of the half with a Wyatt Eglinton Manner layup closing the first half with the Jays leading 38-24.
 
Swarthmore would open the second half with a 16-4 run to pull within two at 42-40 with just under 14 minutes on the second-half clock.  Six different players scored during the run for the Garnet, who held the Blue Jays to just a Charlie Jackson layup and a Tanti Felli tip-in in the first six minutes of the half.
 
Johns Hopkins had the lead back to six (46-40) after a Teagan Swint three-pointer and the Blue Jays would lead by as many as 10 and no less than six over the next 10 minutes before the hitting 3-of-4 from the line late in the game to extend out to a 72-61 lead with 29 seconds on the clock.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers from Brady Kageyama and Devin Burger trimmed the deficit, but Klaiber and Jackson went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch to seal the win.
 
Jackson led the Blue Jays in scoring with 20 points and added a team-high 10 rebounds, while Eglinton Manner (13), Felli (12) and Klaiber (10) also scored in double figures for Johns Hopkins.
 
Hanson paced the Garnet with 18 points, four rebounds and two steals, while Kageyama and Eddie Paquette both chipped in with 13 points.
 
Johns Hopkins will return to action on December 20 when the Blue Jays play Susquehanna in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the Puerto Rico Clasico.  Johns Hopkins will also play Illinois Tech (Dec. 21) while in Puerto Rico.
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