Blue Jays in midst of CC rough patch

This past week, Hopkins
men's basketball attempted
to stop a three-game skid,
taking on Franklin & Marshall,
hosting Muhlenberg
and traveling to Gettysburg.
Unfortunately, the
Blue Jays could not prevent
a further slide, losing
games to the Diplomats
and Mules to make it five
consecutive losses.
Late Wednesday night,
however, the Jays beat Gettysburg,
57-45, ending their
losing streak. Hopkins now
stands at 11-9 and 7-6 in the
Centennial Conference.
On Wednesday, Jan. 25,
the Jays traveled to Franklin
& Marshall to enter the
gym of the ninth-ranked
Diplomats. From the onset,
the game was lopsided, as
Hopkins fell into an early
9-2 hole. They then deepened
the deficit, falling
behind 24-4 slightly before
halftime.
Salvaging another short
run from F&M, the Blue Jays
were able to score six unanswered
points before the
halftime whistle to cut the
lead to 31-14 at the break.
The Blue Jay offense
struggled with the Diplomat
defense, shooting just
27.5 percent from the field.
They also had zero players
score double-digit points
on the night. Four Blue
Jays scored four points
and sophomore guard Kyle
Mobbs led all Hopkins
scorers with five points.
Throughout the second
half, the Diplomats' dominance
continued. Early on
in the second twenty, the
Blue Jays cut the lead to
14 points, spreading the
ball around and seemingly
finding a rhythm.
The good fortune did
not last, however, as the
home team suddenly exploded
with another offensive
attack, opening
up a 26-point lead with
eight minutes remaining
in the game.
The Centennial Conference
leaders maintained
their lead and closed out
the game with a final score
of 65-40, dominating on
both sides of the ball and
improving their overall record
to 17-1 and 10-1 within
the conference.
Hopkins then attempted
to rebound from their
tough loss on Saturday,
facing off with Muhlenberg.
The game, named the
Wall-O'Mahony Game, remembered
the loss of two
Hopkins men's basketball
alumnae, Glen Wall and
Matt O'Mahony. The former
players died in the
Sept, 11, 2001 attacks on the
World Trade Center.
In a tough, physical and
well-fought game, Muhlenberg
managed to edge out
the Blue Jays, 58-54. Hopkins
sophomore guard
Daniel Corbett earned the
Wall-O'Mahony MVP honors
for the second consecutive
year, this year posting a
career high 17 points, three
rebounds and one steal.
In the back and forth
affair, Corbett cut the lead
to one point with a three
pointer with just over 11
minutes remaining in the
game. At that point, an offense
attack from Muhlenberg
ignited, and a 13-2
run from the Mules put a
damper on the Jays' hopes
of finally slashing their recent
losing streak.
After attempting to battle
back, Hopkins ran out
of time. The Mules fought
off the Jays, improving to
6-6 in the conference, the
same conference record as
the Jays at the time.
On Wednesday against
the Bullets of Gettysburg,
the Blue Jays got another
solid performance from
Corbett, who scored 10,
while forwards George
Bugarinovic, a freshman,
and senior Tim McCarty
posted 14 and 15 points,
respectively. McCarty
missed a double-double by
one rebound.
Hopkins will look to improve
their play and make
a statement in the conference
over the remaining
weeks of the season, ultimately
looking to heat
up as the regular season
concludes and make a run
deep into the playoffs.