BALTIMORE, MD –
Wyatt Eglinton Manner drained a turn-around jumper with 1.5 seconds left to lift 24
th-ranked Johns Hopkins to a 58-56 win over Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference opener. The Blue Jays improve to 10-3 overall while the Bullets fall to 5-8.
Caleb Gillus tied the game at 56 with 11 seconds to play on a layup off an
Aidan Mess helper. That set up Eglinton Manner's go-ahead bucket from the elbow as the clocked ticked under two seconds. The Bullets had one last chance, but their in-bounds pass sailed out of bounds.
The ending was befitting a game that saw 12 lead changes and nine ties and the largest lead was just seven points. After a back-and-forth opening 14 minutes, Hopkins led 24-17 with 5:40 to go in the first half. Reece Craft then sparked a 12-2 Gettysburg run with back-to-back layups. Gillus punctuated the run with a triple at 1:55, staking the Bullets to a 29-26 lead. The Blue Jays closed the half with five unanswered points to grab a 31-29 lead at the half.
Nate Williams opened the second with a bucket from downtown to swing the lead over to Gettysburg. JHU came right back with an 8-2 spurt, capped by a
Logan Feller lay-up, as the Blue Jays went up 39-34. The Bullets answered with an 8-2 run of their own and led 42-41 midway through the half.
The final 10 minutes were more of the same, as the lead changed hands seven times and was tied three times. Gettysburg led 52-51 with 3:57 to play thanks to buckets from Ray Zamloot and Gillus. Hopkins responded with free throws from Eglinton Manner and
Charlie Jackson and a
Tanti Felli jumper to take a 56-54 lead with just 25 second left. The Bullets then knotted the score on the ensuing possession with the Gillus layup at 0:11.
Eglinton Manner led all scorers with 21 points, going 9-of-13 from the floor, and grabbed two steals. Felli finished with a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers. Jackson added eight points and a team-best five rebounds and two blocks. Gillus paced the Bullets with 13 points and Zamloot chipped in 12 points. Craft grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to go with six points.
Hopkins returns to action on Wednesday, January 14 as the Blue Jays host Washington College. The Centennial Conference contest is scheduled for a 3:00 pm tip-off.
