Nov. 22, 2009

Box Score

TOWSON, MD - The Johns Hopkins men's basketball team hit four free throws in the final 14 seconds to seal a 58-53 win over Salisbury in the third place game of the Pride of Maryland Championship presented by M&T Bank. Senior Pat O'Connell (Baltimore, MD/Loyola Blakefield) was named to the all-tournament team for the Blue Jays (2-1) for the second straight year.

Sophomore Tim McCarty (Warrington, PA/Germantown Academy) missed the front end of a one-and-one with 22 ticks on the clock with Hopkins leading 54-51. Mike Maczko collected the rebound and was then fouled with 15 seconds to play. He drained both free throws, trimming the Blue Jays lead to just one. O'Connell was fouled after the inbounds and went to the line, calmly swishing both charity shots to push the lead back to two. Salisbury called timeout and the ball ended up in Maczko's hands, who threw up a shot from the corner with time winding down that fell short. Freshman Mike Rhoads (Huntingdon Valley, PA/Chestnut Hill Academy) collected the rebound and was promptly fouled. He went to the line with just 0.4 seconds remaining and hit both free throws to give Hopkins the 58-55 win.

It was back-and-forth early, with three lead changes and one tie in the first 10 minutes. Hopkins took the lead for good, turning a three-point deficit into a two-point lead with a three-pointer from sophomore Danny Gergen (Austin, TX/Anderson) and a layup by from freshman Adam Spengler (Colts Neck, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy). Gergen's trey ignited a 9-0 Blue Jay run as they pushed out to a 21-15 run with 8:49 to play in the half. The Sea Gulls responded with a run of their own, cutting the deficit to one at 4:39, capped by a Maczko bucket from downtown. Hopkins had a run left in it before the half, outscoring Salisbury 8-2 over the final five minutes. Gergen and Spengler fueled the run with a pair of three-pointers as Hopkins took a 31-24 lead into the lockerroom.

Hopkins pushed its lead to 12 to start the second, with an old-fashioned three-point play from O'Connell and an Andrew Farber-Miller (Charlottesville, VA/St. Anne's-Belfield) layup. The game continued to swing back-and-forth, though the Blue Jays never trailed. Salisbury made one final push, trailing by nine with 4:40 to play, trimming the deficit to three and setting up Hopkins' clutch free throw shooting.

Gergen scored a career-high 15 points, to lead three Blue Jays in double-digits. He also dished five assists and had two steals. Farber-Miller posted his second double-double in the last three games with 12 points and 12 boards, while O'Connell punched up 12 points with six boards. He earned all-tournament team honors after averaging 12.3 points and 7.7 boards with 10 assists and seven steals in three games. McGrew and Greg Palmer led the Sea Gulls with 12 points apiece.

Hopkins shot 42.3 percent from the floor, including 38.5 percent from downtown. The Blue Jays also outrebounded the Sea Gulls, 36-28. Salisbury shot 41.2 percent from the floor, while shooting just 44.4 percent from the line.

Hopkins now has 10 days to prepare for its next game, as JHU will travel to Gettysburg on December 2 for its Centennial Conference opener. Game time at Bream Gym is slated for 7:00 pm.

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