BALTIMORE, MD – Charlie Jackson scored a game-high 25 points to lead Johns Hopkins to an 83-71 win over Ursinus in the Centennial Conference semifinals Friday night at Goldfarb Gym. The Blue Jays improve to 20-6 while the Bears end their season at 18-9.
 
Ursinus led 7-6 early but a Jackson layup sparked a quick 8-3 run and Hopkins grabbed a 14-10 lead with 14 minutes to go in the half. The Bears came right back with an 8-4 run of their own, capped by a Tomas Belaiter layup to knot the score at 18. Coming out of a timeout, Teagan Swint drained a three-pointer to ignite a 13-5 run that spanned four and a half minutes and gave the Blue Jays a 31-23 lead. Jeb Williams bookended the run with a triple at the 3:42-mark.
 
The first-half runs continued as Ursinus put together a 9-5 run to end the half. Jamie Murphy fueled the run with six points and Hopkins led 36-32 at the break. The second half was much the same as the first. Jackson drained a three-pointer to open the scoring and push the Blue Jays' lead to seven. That kick-started an 11-4 run for the home team, capped by a Jackson three-point play, as they pushed out to a 47-36 lead.
 
Back-to-back layups from Murphy and Belaiter sparked a 7-3 spurt to pull the Bears back within seven with 13:08 to play. The teams traded scoring possessions over the ensuing five minutes and Hopkins led 61-54. Logan Feller then converted a three-point play, followed by a Wyatt Eglinton Manner jumper and just like that the lead was 12. Ursinus battled back, using a 7-4 spurt to pull back within nine at the 3:24-mark.
 
The final three minutes and 12 seconds became a free throw shooting display by the Blue Jays as the Bears tried to stay close. Hopkins went 12-of-14 from the line and got a Williams' dunk in the final 3:12 to secure the win and punch its ticket to the title game. Mohamed Toure would hit from downtown in the waning seconds to account for the 83-71 final.
 
Five Blue Jays finished in double figures, led by Jackson with his game-high 25. He also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and three steals. Eglinton Manner notched 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Tanti Felli and Williams added 12 points each, while Feller chipped in 10 points. Felli blocked five shots to tie the school record for blocks in a conference tournament game.
 
Toure led the Bears with 22 points to go with eight rebounds, while Murphy just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Nick Nocito handed out seven assists and scored 14 points.
 
Hopkins will take on top-seeded Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference championship game on Sunday. It is JHU's eighth consecutive title game appearance.
 
Notes: Jackson now has 499 points on the season, leaving him one shy of just the fifth 500-point season in program history • Jackson also eclipsed 500 career rebounds to become the 9^th player in JHU history with 1,000 points and 500 points.
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