BALTIMORE – The Swarthmore College men's basketball team erased an eight-point halftime deficit, outscoring host Johns Hopkins University 52-35 over the final 20 minutes to earn an 81-72 victory against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. The win marked the Garnet's fourth in a row against Hopkins and the fourth consecutive triumph on the Blue Jays' home court.
Hopkins started the game strong, getting out to a 13-4 lead over the first six-plus minutes. Swarthmore cut the deficit to four (17-13) but an 11-4 Blue Jays run gave the home team a 28-17 advantage late in the first half. Hopkins took a 37-29 lead into the break after shooting 50 percent in the period.
The Garnet exploded out of the locker room to start the second, going on a monstrous 25-3 run to take over the game. Swarthmore led 54-40 with 8:45 on the clock after the surge. The Blue Jays closed the gap to seven (58-51) with 5:24 left but the Garnet held off Hopkins down the stretch.
Zander Jimenez produced a career-high 31 points to lead Swarthmore, 20 of which came in the second half. He also led the Garnet with nine rebounds and four steals.
Eddie Paquette and
Matt Mulvey each scored 12 points with Paquette grabbing eight boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Blue Jays got off to their strong start by shooting 5-of-7 from the floor, including a trio of three-pointers. Swarthmore answered with a 9-4 stretch to get within four (17-13) at the 10:44 mark. The Garnet shot 4-of-6 with a three by Mulvey.
- Hopkins created separation with an 11-4 run to go ahead 28-17 with 5:36 to go. The teams went back and forth over the final five-plus minutes of the frame and the Blue Jays had an eight-point advantage (37-29) at halftime.
- Jimenez opened the third quarter with a jumper before a Hopkins free throw made the margin seven (38-31) with 18:40 on the clock. Swarthmore then went off for 13 straight points to go in front 44-38. After a Blue Jays layup, the Garnet scored 10 more unanswered points to make it 54-40 with 8:45 to go. Overall, Swarthmore shot 9-of-14 with two threes during the 25-3 surge to begin the half. Five different players contributed to the run, led by Jimenez with nine points. Hopkins shot just 1-of-10 with eight turnovers during the sequence.
- The Blue Jays bounced back with an 11-4 stretch to get within seven (58-51) with 5:24 to play. However,
Brady Kageyama and Jimenez stopped the Hopkins momentum with back-to-back threes, giving the Garnet a 64-51 advantage with 4:01 left. The Blue Jays got the deficit down to nine (65-56) with 2:18 remaining but Swarthmore went 14-for-20 at the foul line in the final minutes to close out the win.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Jimenez 31
Rebounds: Jimenez 9
Assists: Four players 2
Blocks: Jimenez,
Jonathan Stump 1
Steals: Jimenez 4
Threes: Jimenez 2
UP NEXT
The Garnet (16-8, 8-4 Centennial) close out the regular season on Saturday versus Haverford College.
