HAVERFORD, Pa. - Marking its return to Centennial Conference action, the Haverford College men's basketball team (6-6, 2-3 CC) battled with No. 12 Johns Hopkins (9-1, 5-0 CC), falling by an 81-60 final at Gooding Arena in the 2022 home opener. Nate Torres (14 points) and Harry Johnson (10 points) each scored in double figures while the Fords struggled with some foul trouble down the stretch in a scrappy contest that saw 41 personal fouls.
Conner Delaney was a force down the stretch for the visitors, pouring in 25 points while John Windley and Carson James each added 10 points. Delaney knocked down four three-pointers to help the Blue Jays to the road victory.
The Fords found themselves in a big hole early, as the Blue Jays erupted for the first 14 points of the contest as Haverford struggled to find its rhythm without the usual boost from the home crowd. Jackson Ryan ended the run with a trey at 14:27 remaining in the first, and the Fords built their way back into the contest from that point forward.
A spirited 12-0 run for Haverford put the Fords down just five as Nicholas Stewart connected on a well-timed jumper with just under 10 minutes left in the half. Hopkins had an immediate answer, with Windley connecting from long-range, but the Fords now had a foothold in the contest as Charlie Mamlin and Johnson found their shots in the stretch.
An 8-0 spurt in response from the Blue Jays helped the visitors to a 42-29 halftime lead, but a 9-4 run out of the second half gates for the Fords was capitalized by a Josh Love three-pointer, as the junior came alive after being held scoreless in the first 20 minutes of action.
Gabriel Franklin lit the bench up with his runner with 13:36 to play, connecting to trim the JHU lead back to within just six at 46-40. As was the case seemingly all afternoon, an immediate answer from the visitors came via the three-pointer as Braden Johnson poured in a shot from beyond the arc to expand the lead. Undaunted, it was Nate Torres to answer next for Haverford, trimming the advantage to 50-45 with 11:43 to go. Johnson then again hit a clutch bucket, and this time the connection sparked a 9-2 JHU spurt as the Blue Jays went up 59-47 with 9:19 to play.
Ryan whittled the lead to single digits with 8:05 to go, but another 10-2 spurt from the Blue Jays put the contest out of reach despite threes in the closing moments from Trotter and Zach Perry. A 41-30 rebounding advantage was key to the Johns Hopkins win, as was an impressive 12-20 clip from beyond the arc. Haverford drilled eight three-pointers on the night, and held a slight 9-8 edge on the offensive glass.
The Fords will now have a quick turnaround as the Centennial Conference slate continues with a showdown at McDaniel on Tuesday night, January 11. The tip-off for that contest is slated for 8 p.m. in Westminster, Maryland and will be preceded by the women's squad challenging the Green Terror at 6 p.m.