The Blue Jays stayed scorching hot on Monday with a 72-56 win over the Mary Washington Eagles.
The game was tight for most of the contest, but a late run allowed the Blue Jays to pull away. After a slow start to the season, the Blue Jays have since come roaring back, rattling off 12 straight wins and bringing their record to 14-4.
Late Run
The game started on the wrong foot for Hopkins as a 10-2 run by the Eagles to open the contest forced the Blue Jays to play from behind early. However, the Blue Jays rallied back and closed the half up by four points.
The second half began with much of the same, with both teams trading buckets in a close defensive battle. With just eight minutes remaining in the game, a pair of free throws by Mary Washington cut the Hopkins lead to only five.
Then the floodgates opened. The Hopkins offense exploded to the tune of an 18-3 run to all but end the contest. Eight straight unanswered points during the run came from junior guard John Windley, including a pair of dagger threes. The run opened a 20-point lead with two minutes remaining, and the Blue Jays cruised the rest of the way.
The Blue Jays struggled early from beyond the arc, shooting 27% from three in the first half, but Hopkins found their stroke in the second half, shooting 40% from three and 50% from the field. The Blue Jays dominated on the boards and on defense throughout the game, outrebounding the Eagles 49-32 and holding Mary Washington to a 33% clip from the floor.
Graduate forward Sidney Thybulle led the way on the glass, racking up 15 rebounds to go along with his 13 points on a perfect six for six from the field. Windley led the scoring, putting up a team-leading 17 points as well as contributing eight rebounds. Freshman guard Jeb Williams had a strong performance off the bench with nine points and four rebounds to go along with two steals and a block on the other end.
Twelve Game Streak
The Blue Jays have been on a tear as of late, having not lost a game in two months. On Nov. 21, Hopkins lost to the Gettysburg Bullets 56-70 to bring their record on the young season to 2-4.
Since then, the Blue Jays have not lost and have dominated the Centennial Conference. Hopkins has won ten consecutive Centennial Conference matchups, most notably beating 10-1 Franklin & Marshall and 8-3 Swarthmore. Since Monday’s game, the Blue Jays have gone on to beat 2-9 McDaniel.
The Blue Jays will need to continue that streak in order to finish atop the standings. There is currently a tie for first place in the Centennial Conference between Hopkins and Franklin & Marshall, both 10-1 in conference play.
Hopkins has finished as the top seed the past two years and was able to capitalize in 2022 and win the conference championship, but they recently fell to Swarthmore in 2023. To earn a bye in the conference playoffs, the Blue Jays will need to finish conference play strong and finish as a No. 2 seed.
A Look Ahead
The two key matchups to keep an eye on are the Blue Jays’ upcoming games against Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall on Jan. 31 and Feb. 6, respectively. These two games will likely break the tie in the conference standings and decide who will get a bye in the conference tournament.
