Hood Holds Off Johns Hopkins, 65-62, in Pride of Maryland Semifinals

Blue Jays Will Play Loser of St. Mary's-Salisbury in Third Place Game

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Junior <b>Mike Henrici</b> punched up 15 points Saturday against Hood.

Junior Mike Henrici punched up 15 points Saturday against Hood.

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Nov. 21, 2009

Box Score

TOWSON, MD - The Johns Hopkins men's basketball was seeking its fourth appearance in the Pride of Maryland Championship game on Saturday night when it took on Hood, but fell just short in an 65-62 loss in the semifinals. The Blue Jays slip to 1-1 on the young season while the Blazers improve to 2-0. Hopkins will await its opponent in Sunday's third-place game, the loser of the Salisbury-St. Mary's semifinal.

Hood was in control early, jumping out to a 10-0 lead thanks in part to a combined eight points from Brenden Straughn and Reco Siler. Hopkins finally got on the board with a three-pointer from sophomore Tim McCarty (Warrington, PA/Germantown Academy) 5:16 into the game. The Blazers held the Blue Jays at bay, pushing out to a 19-10 lead midway through the half before JHU started to rally. Junior Mike Henrici (Wayne, PA/Conestoga) got things going with a jumper at 10:41. Sophomore Danny Gergen (Austin, TX/Anderson) then hit back-to-back threes and the deficit was down to one.

Byron Morgan drained a jumper for Hood, pushing the lead back to three as the Blazers continued to lead. Trailing by six at 29-23 with just under five minutes to play, Hopkins once again rallied. Gergen hit his third three of the half to ignite a 10-2 run, capped by a Henrici jumper off a Pat O'Connell (Baltimore, MD/Loyola Blakefield) steal, to give the Blue Jays a 33-31 lead at the half.

The Blue Jays maintained a slim lead coming out of the lockerroom until midway through the second half. Hopkins led 49-47 after a layup by Henrici with 8:12 to play. But a pair of Justin Stone free throws knotted the score for the sixth time in the game. Tory Wilson then hit the front end of a pair of free throws to give Hood a lead it would not relinquish. The Blazers never led by more than six down the stretch and the Blue Jays cut it to one with 5:29 to play on a pair of O'Connell free throws. Stone answered with a pair of his own and then J'Air Brady converted a three-point play and the lead was up to six.

Hopkins continued to cut into the lead, only to have Hood answer. But the Blue Jays had a chance to force overtime after Siler missed the back end of a pair of free throws with 14 ticks on the clock. Henrici controlled the rebound and set up O'Connell with a three-point shot with just one second remaining, but the shot didn't fall and Hood held on for the win.

Henrici and O'Connell scored 15 points apiece, a game-high, to lead four Blue Jays in double figures. O'Connell also had a team and game-high seven rebounds. McCarty and Gergen also finished in double figures, chipping in 11 points apiece. The 11 points are a career-high for Gergen, who shot 4-of-5 from the field, including 3-of-3 from downtown. Freshman Mike Rhoads (Huntingdon Valley, PA/Chestnut Hill Academy) had a game-high six assists while also grabbing five boards. Wilson (13 points) and Stone (12) led the Blazers, who shot 52.2 percent from the floor for the game.

Hopkins will play in Sunday's third-place game, slated for 4:30 pm at Goucher. The Blue Jays are 3-0 against Salisbury and 1-1 against St. Mary's in the history of the tournament.