The Basics
• Score: #15 Johns Hopkins-81, Moravian-75
• Records: JHU (1-0) • MC (0-1)
• Location: Bethlehem, PA • Johnston Hall
• The Short Story: Sophomore Conner Delaney poured in a game and career-high 32 points to lead the 15^th-ranked Johns Hopkins men's basketball team to an 81-75 win at Moravian on Thursday night in both teams' season-opener.
 
How it Happened
• Hopkins found itself trailing early as Moravian raced out to an 8-0 lead on a John Hargraves bucket at the 16:42-mark. Senior Michael Gardner and sophomore Joey Kern hit back-to-back threes to spark a 13-6 run as the Blue Jays trimmed the deficit to one with 11:45 to go in the half.
• Elijah Davis answered with a pair of threes, sandwiched a Harry O'Neil layup, followed by a Hargraves bucket in the paint and the lead was back to seven just two minutes later. The teams went back-and-forth and the lead seesawed up and down over the ensuing six minutes.
• Trailing by eight with 3:33 on the clock, Kern hit a layup to kick-start a 13-2 run that gave Hopkins a 40-35 lead at the break. Delaney followed the Kern bucket with a jumper and then freshmen Braeden Johnson hit back-to-back triples to knot the score at 35-all. Delaney then scored the final five points of the half to send the Blue Jays into the break with the momentum and a five-point lead.
• Moravian came out of the half firing and used a 10-3 spurt to retake the lead by the 16:07-mark. The teams traded buckets over a two-minute span and the Greyhounds led 49-48 on a Jimmy Murray basket in the paint. Delaney gave the Blue Jays back the lead with back-to-back buckets, but it didn't last long. A pair of Oneil Holder free throws and a Davis fast-break bucket put Moravian up 53-52 with 11 minutes to go.
• Gardner put Hopkins back on top with a pair of free throws, but Holder answered with one of two from the line and it was 54-54 just 44 seconds later. The teams traded blows over the next two and a half minutes and they were tied at 58.
• Delaney swung the lead back in the Blue Jays' favor with a two shots from the stripe and Johnson followed with a trey to kick-start a 14-4 run. Kern capped the run with another bucket from downtown to stake Hopkins to a 72-62 lead.
• As it had all game, the Moravian defense continued to press and twice the Greyhounds cut the deficit to two over the ensuing two minutes. The Blue Jays answered each time and walked away with the 81-75 win.
 
What it Means
• Hopkins improves to 7-2 all-time against Moravian and has now won four straight in the series. This is the Blue Jays' first trip to Bethlehem since 1975.
 
Inside the Box Score
• Delaney finished with his first career 30-point game and it is the most points by a Blue Jay since Jimmy Hammer scored 36 on November 15, 2013 against Moravian. He also handed out four assists and had two steals in 35 minutes.
• Johnson scored 12 points in his debut, going 3-of-5 from downtown. Kern chipped in 11 points, going 4-of-6 from the field, with five boards while Gardner added 10 points and five rebounds.
• Murray led the Greyhounds with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while adding a game-high five assists. Holder added 15 points and six rebounds while Nicholas Casazza had 11 and three steals.
 
Up Next
• Hopkins makes the short trip to York, PA to take on York College on Sunday, November 11. Tip-off at Wolf Gymnasium is slated for 3:00 pm.