1st Round (at Muhlenberg): #4 Gettysburg d. #5 Muhlenberg,
60-51
Semifinal (at Johns Hopkins): #1 Johns Hopkins d. #4 Gettysburg,
80-73
Semifinal (at Johns Hopkins): #3 Haverford d. #2 Ursinus, 70-69
(OT)
Final (at Johns Hopkins): #1 Johns Hopkins d. #3 Haverford,
68-61
BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins men's basketball team won its
second Centennial Conference Championship on Sunday with a 68-61
win over Haverford at Goldfarb Gym. With the win, the Blue Jays
(23-4) earn the conference's automatic qualifier for the 2007 NCAA
Tournament. The five Hopkins seniors combined for 52 of the Blue
Jays 68 points in the win.
The Blue Jays got off to a slow start at the beginning of the
game, as the Fords took a quick 5-0 lead. Haverford held onto to
its lead until a jumper by senior Danny Nawrocki (Syosset,
NY/Chaminade) at 11:45 gave Hopkins a 12-11 lead - that capped a
5-0 Blue Jays run. The Fords answered with a lay-up from Chaz
Thomas to give the visitors back a one-point lead. A back-and-forth
ensued as the teams battled to a 20-20 tie with 7:43 to play in the
half.
Hopkins rallied with 10 points from senior Matt Griffin (Glen
Mills, PA/Penncrest), freshman Patrick O'Connell (Baltimore,
MD/Loyola Blakefield) and senior Chris Morley (North Salem,
NY/North Salem) to go up 30-20. Haverford closed the half on a 6-4
run to make it a 34-26 game at the half. The five Hopkins seniors
combined for 30 of the Blue Jays 34 points in the first half, led
by T.J. Valerio (Blue Bell, PA/St. Joseph's Prep) and Griffin with
10 points apiece.
Haverford came out firing in the second half, as the Fords rallied
to tie the game at 44-44 at 11:24. Hopkins answered with a lay-up
from senior Zack Armen (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) as the Blue Jays
went on a 7-2 run. Haverford rallied again, taking a 52-51 lead on
a three-pointer by Thomas at 7:26. Junior Doug Polster
(Bernardsville, NJ/Bernards) answered with a trey, giving the lead
back to Hopkins. The Blue Jays would never trail for the remainder
of the game.
Leading 58-56 with 3:10 to play, Hopkins outscored Haverford 10-5
to close out the game thanks to solid free throw shooting. The Blue
Jays converted 10-of-13 from the charity stripe in the closing
minutes to seal the win. For the game Hopkins shot 23-of-31 (74.2%)
from the line. The Blue Jays shot 57.1% from the floor for the
game, while the Fords shot 46.9% from the floor.
Griffin led Hopkins with 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the
floor and 6-of-7 from the line. Nawrocki grabbed a game-high 15
rebounds and punched up 10 points for his 36th career double-double
and 15th of the season. Valerio had 17 points for the Jays. Thomas
led the Fords with a game-high 24 points while Mike Fratangelo
chipped in 21.
The Blue Jays will make their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and
eighth under head coach Bill Nelson. It is the first appearance for
Hopkins in the tournament since the 1998-99 season - the last time
Hopkins won the Centennial Conference Tournament. The NCAA will
announce the tournament selections on www.NCAASports.com Sunday
night. The bracket will be released on Monday morning. Stay tuned
to www.HopkinsSports.com for details on the Blue Jays tournament
schedule.