The Basics
• Score: Johns Hopkins-59, #8 Swarthmore-57
• Records: JHU (5-2, 2-0 CC) • SC (4-1, 1-1 CC)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Goldfarb Gym
• The Short Story: Junior Harry O'Neil's put-back with six-tenths of a second remaining lifted the Johns Hopkins men's basketball team to a 59-57 win over eighth-ranked Swarthmore Thursday night.
 
How it Happened
• Cam Wiley hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 32.4 seconds remaining to cut the Blue Jays' lead to two. George Visconti then intercepted the ball and fed a cutting Zac O'Dell for a layup just three and a half seconds later to tie the game at 57.
• Hopkins called timeout and drew up one last play with the clock at 23.1. As the clock ticked under five seconds, senior Michael Gardner took a pull-up jumper from 15 feet that just missed the mark. O'Neil was there to collect the rebound put it back to put the Jays up by two. Swarthmore had one more chance with Wiley's 55-footer but it hit the rim as time expired.
• The teams went back-and-forth over the opening seven minutes and Hopkins led 11-9 on freshman Braeden Johnson's layup. Conor Harkins answered with a triple to swing the lead back to Swarthmore and kick-start a 15-1 run. Nate Shafer capped the run with a pair of free throws and the Garnet led 24-12 at the 8:06-mark.
• Gardner hit a free throw and then he and senior Joey Fitzpatrick sandwiched a pair of triples around a Colin Shaw jumper and the Garnet lead was down to seven. Senior Daniel Vila then scored five straight points, followed by a Gardner jumper and it was a tie game with 3:28 to play in the half.
• Visconti answered with nine straight points for the Garnet, fueling a 9-4 run that saw Swarthmore take a 35-30 lead into the locker room.
• The teams traded buckets over the opening 10 minutes of the second half and the Garnet led 44-39 on an O'Dell three-pointer. Sophomore Conner Delaney hit a layup, followed by four straight points from O'Neil to put the Blue Jays up 45-44 with 7:51 to go.
• Wiley answered with back-to-back layups and then Visconti hit a three and just like that Swarthmore was up six. Sophomore Joey Kern responded with a three-pointer and Delaney converted an old-fashioned three-point play to knot the score at 51 at the 4:25-mark. Gardner put Hopkins on top with a three from the corner two minutes later.
• Ryan Ingram hit one of two from the line to make it a two-point game with 1:21 to play. Delaney responded with a three from the top of the key as the shot clock wound down. That set up the thrilling finish, befitting the rematch of last year's Centennial Conference Championship game.
 
What it Means
• Hopkins improves to 79-38 all-time against Swarthmore, including 46-5 at Goldfarb Gym, and has won three straight in the series.
• This is the Blue Jays first win over a top-10 opponent since January 14, 2015 when JHU beat then fourth-ranked Dickinson, 67-54.
 
Inside the Box Score
• Delaney led the Blue Jays with 15 points, while also handing out a game-high four assists and grabbing three steals. O'Neil put up a season-high 14 points while also grabbing six rebounds. Gardner chipped in 11 points and Fitzpatrick pulled eight rebounds.
• O'Dell led the Garnet with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Visconti added 14 points. Shafer added 10 rebound and seven points.
• Hopkins held Swarthmore more than 26 points below its season average as the Garnet suffered their first loss of the season.
 
Up Next
• Hopkins hits the road once again, traveling to the Eastern Shore to take on Washington College on Saturday, December 1. Tip-off at the Cain Athletic Center is slated for 3:00 pm.