Hopkins basketball opened up the 2013-2014 season with an impressive win over Moravian, led by a 36-point effort from junior guard Jimmy Hammer.
With the contest tied late in the first half, Hammer rattled off 11 unanswered points over a two minute span, giving the Blue Jays a 40-29 lead they would never relinquish.
After Moravian went on a 7-2 run to open the first half, Hammer answered with back-to-back three-pointers, extending the lead back to 12 points. The Blue Jays continued to use the deep ball to answer runs by the Greyhounds. Along with Hammer, sophomore Gene Williams and freshman Ryan Curran also made contributions from beyond the arc.
Hammer’s 36 points marked a career high, as he went 13-16, including 7-11 from the field. His 36 was also the highest number of points scored in a game for a Blue Jay since Jaden Phillips scored 37 points in 1987.
Junior George Bugarinovic finished with 12 points to go along with five assists and three steals. Senior Connor McIntyre had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four blocks.
In the Blue Jays’ second game of the weekend they came up short in a high scoring game, falling to Wesley 90-76.
With the game tied around the halfway point in the first half, Williams put the Blue Jays on top with a bucket from downtown, but the Blue Jays were unable to hold the lead.
Wesley answered with a 17-4 run led by David Langan and Quincy Pettiford. A three-pointer from Hammer helped shorten the deficit, but Wesley held a 12-point lead heading into the locker room at the break.
Hopkins came out of the half strong with a quick 8-0 run, led by six points from Williams. The scoring then went back and forth between the two squads, with Wesley ultimately going on another big run, pushing their lead to 17. Bugarinovic led the Jays, making 8-11 shots from the floor, while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out four assists. Hammer added 14 points and sophomore Austin Vasiliadis finished with a career high seven assists.
Although the season is young, the team also has clear goals moving forward.
“Our goal as a team is to win the Centennial Conference championship and make a run in the NCAA tournament,” Williams said. “I think the seniors will make big contributions this year. We have three seniors that are also captains in Connor Mcyntire, Dan Corbet and Alexander Nikolic. It's their team and they've done a great job so far.”
Williams also noted that although the team suffered a tough loss in the second game of the tournament, it was an overall positive start for the Jays. “Our up-tempo defense is new this year and we executed it well against Moravian. We learned that we still have a long way to go to get to where we want to be, but we're making strides every game.”
The Blue Jays will continue play on Wednesday as they travel to Reading, Pa. to take part in the Alvernia tournament. This tournament will be another big test for the Blue Jays as they continue to prepare for a Centennial Conference Championship run.
