For the fifth year in a row the Centennial Conference men's basketball championship will come down to Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore as both squads pieced together convincing double-digit home wins on Friday night. The perennial CC powers will face off Sunday at 3 p.m. in Baltimore.
In Swarthmore, Pa., second-seeded Swarthmore took down third-seeded Gettysburg 95-81 to advance to the championship for the seventh consecutive season. Offensively, the Garnet were captained by a two headed scoring machine, with Vinny DeAngelo dropping 23 points and Michael Caprise notching 21 of his own. Gettysburg's Carl Schaller led all scorers with 33 points on 13-of-15 shooting in the defeat.
In Baltimore, Md., top-seeded Hopkins cruised to an 85-51 victory over fourth-seeded Muhlenberg on Friday night in Goldfarb Gym, sending JHU to the title game for the fifth straight year. Carson James led the Blue Jays with 15 points, while handing out five assists. John Windley finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jayden Nixon added 13 points and seven boards and Sidney Thybulle chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Giovanni Rubino paced the Mules with 15 points.
Swarthmore and Hopkins have won each of the last five CC titles, with the Garnet hoisting the trophy in 2017 and 2019 and the Blue Jays taking home titles in 2018, 2020 and 2022. In 2022, the Blue Jays defeated the Garnet 80-66 in Baltimore. The two sides split their regular season matchups this season, which each winning on its home court.
QUARTERFINALS: Tuesday, Feb. 21 | at #3 & #4 seeds
#3 Gettysburg d. #6 Franklin & Marshall, 71-51
#4 Muhlenberg d. #5 Ursinus, 74-53
SEMIFINALS: Friday, Feb. 24 | at #1 & #2 seeds
#2 Swarthmore d. #3 Gettysburg, 95-81
#1 Johns Hopkins d. #4 Muhlenberg, 85-51
CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, Feb. 26 | at highest remaining seed
#2 Swarthmore vs. #1 Johns Hopkins, 3 p.m.