|
Hot Shooting Leads Johns Hopkins to ECAC Holiday Classic
Jan. 4, 2009 KISSIMMEE, FL - The third time was the charm for the Johns Hopkins men's basketball team on Sunday night, playing in its third tournament championship game of the season. JHU shot 64.9 percent from the floor en route to a 75-45 win over Penn State Altoona to win the inaugural ECAC Holiday Classic at the Disney Wide World of Sports. Junior forward Andrew Farber-Miller (Charlottesville, VA/St. Anne's-Belfield) earned tournament MVP honors as the Blue Jays improve to 6-3 on the season. The Lions fall to 5-4 with the loss. Hopkins trailed just once, at 5-3 just 17:04 into the first. But the Blue Jays quickly turned a two-point deficit into a seven-point lead behind five points from junior Pat O'Connell (Baltimore, MD/Loyola Blakefield) and four points from Farber-Miller. Lorenzo Carter checked in for the Lions and hit back-to-back layups to make it a three-point game at 12-9 with 11:50 to play. Hopkins took over from there as senior Phil Beggans (Ocean, NJ/Ocean) drained consecutive buckets from downtown followed by a jumper from senior Scott Weisenfeld (Mt. Kisco, NY/Horace-Greeley) to push out to an 11-point lead. Justin Gasbarre put a halt to the Blue Jay run with a pair of free throws. Zach Spitz also hit one of two free throws for the Lions and the Jays lead was down to eight with 7:00 to play in the first. Junior Adam Baumgartner (Reston, VA/Bishop O'Connell) pushed the lead back to double-digits with a jumper and as the Blue Jays lead never dipped into single digits for the remainder of the game. Coming out of the half leading 28-14, Hopkins hot shooting continued. The Blue Jays shot 65.0 percent from the floor in the second, connecting on 13 of 20 field goals. Hopkins' lead grew to 20 by the midway point of the second half and continued to grow as the Blue Jays won by 30.
Farber-Miller finished with a game-high 14 points and 10 boards for his first double-double of the season and third of his career. With 12 different Blue Jays scoring in the win, he was the only player in double figures for Hopkins. The Blue Jays 64.9 percent shooting from the field was the best in a single-game in more than eight seasons. It also marks the second time this season the Blue Jays have shot better than 60 percent from the floor. The Hopkins' defense meanwhile held Penn State to just 33.3 percent from the floor, while winning the rebounding battle 36-20. Eric Gaetano was the only player for the Lions in double-digits with 10 points. Hopkins returns to action on Wednesday night in Baltimore, getting back to Centennial Conference action with Ursinus. Tip off in Goldfarb Gym is slated for an 8:00 pm start. |
   |
