The Hopkins men’s basketball team faced off at home on Wednesday, Feb 1 against the Gettysburg College Bullets. Hopkins came into the home game riding a six-game winning streak and tied for first among Centennial Conference teams.
The Blue Jays carried their momentum into a stellar defensive performance and decisive 67-47 victory over the Bullets. They held Gettysburg’s leading scorer, senior forward Cody Kiefer, to three points on 0-4 shooting. Kiefer also came into the contest as the leading rebounder in the Centennial Conference, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game but was held to only two rebounds against the Jays.
On the offensive side, Hopkins was led by graduate student forward Sam Gordon, who scored 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Additionally, senior forward Ryan Curran was able to make a decisive impact with 15 points and eight rebounds of his own.
Sophomore guard Michael Gardner, who contributed 17 points against the Bullets, attributed the Jays’ winning streak to three simple things.
“Ball movement, shooting and defense,” Gardner said. “The team has a lot of guys who can score the ball, [making the team] tough to guard as a whole.”
This is evident as four different Blue Jays averaged over 10 points per game: Gardner, Gordon, Curran and junior forward Kyle Doran. Moving toward their next game against the Dickinson College Red Devils, Hopkins had the momentum and the confidence to avenge the last team to have beaten them. Following their loss to Dickinson, the Jays were able to reel off seven straight victories.
Hopkins was hot from the start, leading by nine points at halftime. However, the tables turned in the second half and the Red Devils dominated. The Blue Jays were pushed out of rhythm, unable to handle the ball the way they had been previously. The Jays fell to the Red Devils by four points.
Doran led the way for the Jays, with 13 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. Gardner and Gordon contributed 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Dickinson capitalized on the Blue Jays’ hiccup with a balanced scoring attack; Of the nine players to see the court, eight of them scored at least four points. Their leading scorers were sophomore Elijah Wright (12 points) and junior Justus Melton (11 points).
Doran explained what caused the Jays to falter in the second half.
“We turned the ball over and had very few assists,” he said.
This was reflected in the final box score, as the Blue Jays totaled only five assists compared to their 17 turnovers.
The loss broke the tie at the top of the Centennial Conference, as the Swarthmore College Garnet went 2-0 on the week to claim sole possession of first place with a 11-3 Conference record.
The Blue Jays now stand tied for second in the Centennial with Ursinus College. However, Hopkins holds the tiebreaker after winning both matchups with Ursinus in the regular season.
With their sights set on the Conference title, the Blue Jays will face off this Saturday against Swarthmore College for the first of four remaining regular season games. Gardner explained what it would take for the Blue Jays to win the Conference. “We need to keep playing for each other,” Gardner said.
