During a season in which missed free throws and turnovers were two of the men's basketball team's biggest problems, the Jays' first round Centennial Conference loss to fourth seeded Haverford was a fitting finish.
In the game, Hopkins committed 17 turnovers, which Haverford converted into 25 points en route to victory. For a Blue Jay team that was used to close games -- 15 of the team's contests were decided by five points or less -- the 71-53 loss was surprisingly lopsided.
"We didn't match their intensity," said junior guard Bobby Sharafeddin.
After the Jays' loss forced the team to an early exit from the Centennial Conference Tournament, the team's worst fears were confirmed Monday as the Jays learned that their season had officially ended when they failed to earn a berth into the ECAC tournament on Monday.
Entering the game, the Jays seemed reasonably well positioned to earn a victory. Hopkins had won 9 of their last 11 meetings with the Fords. During the regular season, they had earned two more victories than the Fords.
Although the game got off to a low-scoring start, the Jays managed to keep up with the Fords for the first twelve minutes of the contest, battling to a 15-15 tie. But the team lost its momentum in the second period.
The Jays were seriously hurt by the loss of point guard Jeff Thompson, who went down early in the game and did not return. At halftime, the Jays trailed 32-21, largely thanks to the consistent efforts of Haverford standouts Mark Gabriel and Matt Stein, who combined to score 24 of Fords' 32 first-half points.
By trailing at halftime, the Blue Jays put themselves in a difficult spot. Of the team's contests this season, they were 10-5 when leading at halftime, but only 4-5 in games during which they have trailed at the half.
--The Jays started the second half strong, trimming the Fords' 11 point lead during the first few minutes as senior forward Eric Toback made two shots in a row to cut the lead. Sophomore guard T.J. Valerio followed Toback's shots with a three pointer of his own, dropping the Haverford lead to just five.
The 13-7 run gave the Blue Jays their best opportunity to recover, but the Fords answered in a major way as Jeremy Bass scored a quick lay-up and three-pointer.
"It was the closest we had been in a while. They hit a big shot and drained the energy out of us," Sharafeddin said.
The quick scores were a bad omen for the Jays, as Haverford launched a 14-2 run en route to taking a commanding lead.
"Once they start making tough shots like that it takes the life out of you," Sharafeddin said.
The Jays tried to mount a recovery late in the game, managing to pull to within 13 points with just over six and a half minutes remaining, but Stein hit two quick shots to put the Haverford lead back to 17 points.
The shots effectively ended any Blue Jay chances at making a comeback, eventually leading to the loss, 71-53.
The Jays were led by T.J. Valerio, who scored a career-high 19 points that also led the team. Dan Nawrocki notched a double-double, scoring 10 points and 16 rebounds, which set a Centennial Conference Tournament record for most rebounds.
Senior Eric Toback, the team's leading scorer who had also been selected as First Team Centennial Conference player earlier in the week, ended his collegiate career by scoring 11 points.
The Jays finished the season with a record of 14-11, but Sharafeddin said that the Jays were optimistic that next year's team would be able to improve on that record. With Toback as the only starter not returning next year, Sharafeddin said that he thought the Jays would be preseason favorites.
"We have a lot to build on for next year," he said. "We have a lot of capable underclassmen coming back."
