In defeating the top seeded Dickinson Red Devils, the Hopkins men’s basketball team became just the second team in Centennial Conference history to be a third place team defeating the first seeded team to take home the title.
There was a lot riding on this game; not only would the Blue Jays receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament with a win, but the last time Hopkins won the Centennial Conference Championship title was back in 2007. There was plenty of pressure placed on the Blue Jays especially coming off of two regular season losses to the Red Devils.
Hopkins started off slowly, giving the Red Devils an early 5-0 lead. However, the Blue Jays would recover and take a 15-10 lead on a layup by sophomore Gene Williams at the 13:54 mark.
Back-to-back buckets by the Red Devils ignited a quick 8-2 run as Dickinson retook the lead on a fast-break layup with 9:24 to play in the half. The Blue Jays retaliated with a pair of jumpers from sophomore Matt Billups and Hopkins regained the lead with a score of 21-18.
A Red Devil three on the next possession would tie up the score again and spark a 13-2 run that saw Dickinson take a 31-23 lead with 1:32 left in the half. Knocking down his first three-point basket of the night, Williams cut the deficit to five as the time expired in the first half.
Coming out of the half, Dickinson kept with their fast paced offense and pushed the lead out to 10 points.
Fighting to keep the deficit within single digits, Hopkins managed to bring the score within two when junior George Bugarinovic was fouled on a fast-break layup. Bugarinovic completed the three-point play at the free throw line putting the Blue Jays ahead by one with 13:17 left to play.
The next 10 minutes would see both teams exchanging baskets back-and-forth causing four lead changes and ending with a tied up score at the 3:48 mark.
A three point basket by Williams and a layup from Bugarinovic would put the Blue Jays ahead by five points with 2:11 left in the game.
With 61 seconds remaining in the game, the Blue Jays would make seven of eight free throws and clinch the Centennial Conference Championship title. The free throws came from junior Jimmy Hammer and seniors Daniel Corbett and Connor McIntyre.
Leading three Blue Jays in double digits, Bugarinovic finished the game one point shy of his season high with his 18 points. Williams and McIntyre both put up 12 points in the team's win. McIntyre also grabbed 13 rebounds, completing his second double-double of the season.
Along with his 18 points, Bugarinovic grabbed seven rebounds, recorded two blocks and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player with his impressive performance.
Receiving an automatic bid into the 2014 NCAA tournament, the Blue Jays will head to Virginia Beach, Va. this Friday to face off against host Virginia Wesleyan for the first round of the tournament.
Virginia Wesleyan finished their season with an overall record of 22-6 and heads into the first round of the NCAAs off of a tough 77-74 win over Hampden-Sydney in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship game. The matchup against the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins will be the first in program history; however, the Blue Jays are prepared having already played against multiple teams that placed in the field of 62, including Wesley and Alvernia.
The veteran coaching staff here at Hopkins has extensive experience in the NCAA tournament and knows what to expect and how to prepare for big games.
Leading the Blue Jays, head Coach Bill Nelson is the winningest coach in program history with a Hopkins record of 447-284 (.611). In his 34th season overall as a head coach, Nelson brings a combined overall record of 552-337 (.621) into the NCAA Tournament. Hopkins is making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament this weekend, and nine of the 10 appearances have been brought under the leadership of Coach Nelson.
