The Johns Hopkins men's
basketball team made seven of eight free throws in the final 61 seconds
to clinch its first Centennial Conference title since 2007. Hopkins
becomes just the second three seed to defeat the number one seed to win
the title, joining Gettysburg in 2009. The Blue Jays improve to 17-10,
their most wins since 2006-07, and will make their 10th NCAA Tournament
appearance. The Red Devils fall to 21-6 and await a possible at-large
berth to the NCAAs. Junior George Bugarinovic (6'5''-F) was named the tournament MVP after finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Trailing 47-44 with 4:58 to play after a Steve Collins (6'10''-F) three-pointer from the corner, Hopkins outscored Dickinson 16-8 down the stretch to bring home the title. Junior Jimmy Hammer (6'2''-G) hit a pair of free throws to bring the Blue Jays within one before Adam Honig
(6'1''-G) was fouled on a three-point attempt. He made just one of his
three shots and the lead was two with 4:18 to play. Senior Connor McIntyre (6'6''-F) was then sent to the line after grabbing an offensive board and he hit both shots to tie the game 30 seconds later. Sophomore Gene Williams (6'4''-G/F) then drained his third three-pointer of the game to give Hopkins its first lead since the 13:17-mark. George Bugarinovic
pushed the lead to five when off a missed Dickinson shot, he tipped the
rebound out of traffic, and then went in for the fast-break layup at
2:11. Gerry Wixted pulled the Red Devils back within three with a bucket
in the paint on the other end, but a pair of Hammer free throws made it
a 55-50 game with 1:01 on the clock. Wixted came right back with an
old-fashioned three-point play to trim the deficit to just two with 49
seconds to play. The Red Devils fouled on the ensuing possession and senior Daniel Corbett
(6'0''-PG) made one of two shots to put Hopkins up 56-53. Wixted again
came up big for his team, drawing a foul and converting both shots to
cut the lead to one with 22 ticks left. Hopkins would seal the
championship at the free throw line however as Hammer and McIntyre were
both perfect from the stripe in their final four attempts. After
falling behind 5-0 early, the Blue Jays came back to take a 15-10 lead
on a Williams' bucket at the 13:54-mark. Back-to-back buckets by Ted Hinnenkamp (6'7''-G) and Tom McInerney
(6'6''-F) ignited a quick 8-2 spurt by the Red Devils as they retook
the lead on a Tucker Landy fast-break layup with 9:24 to play in the
half. The Blue Jays answered with a pair of jumpers from sophomore Matt Billups
(6'10''-F) and JHU led 21-18. A Honig three on the next possession
would tie the game again and kick start a 13-2 run that saw Dickinson
take a 31-23 lead with 1:32 to go. Williams would cut the deficit to
five at the half with his first three-pointer of the night. Coming
out of the half, Dickinson picked up right where it had left off and
pushed out to a 10-point lead by the 17:32-mark. Hopkins wouldn't let
this one get away and chipped away at the deficit until a George Bugarinovic
fast-break three-point play gave the Jays the lead with 13:17 to play.
The Red Devils got free throws from McInerney and Honig to take a 44-42
lead four minutes later. Billups tied the game with a basket in the
paint, but that Collins' three as the clock ticked under five minutes
put Dickinson back on top 47-44 and set the stage for the exciting
finish. George Bugarinovic
led three Blue Jays in double figures with his 18 points, one shy of
his season high. McIntyre tied his career high with 13 rebounds while
also putting up 12 points for his second double double of the season.
Williams finished with 12 points, a career-high six rebounds and two
assists. Wixted led the Red Devils with a game-high 22 points and also
grabbed eight rebounds, while Honig finished with 12 points.
Nelson
