Jan. 30, 2008

Box Score

CHESTERTOWN, MD - Senior captains Doug Polster (Bernardsville, NJ/Bernards) and Kevin Roach (Derwood, MD/Colonel Zadok Magruder) combined for 30 points, including 20 in the first half, to lead Johns Hopkins to a 70-57 win over Washington College in Centennial Conference action Wednesday night. Hopkins has now won five of its last six to move to 11-7 overall and 7-4 in the conference. The Shoremen fall to 4-14 overall and 1-10 in the Centennial.

After falling behind 4-0, the Shoremen punched up five unanswered points to take their first and only lead of the game at 5-4 just 5:04 in to the first. Then Polster and Roach took over, as the pair combined for 12 points to outscore Washington 12-2 over the next four and a half minutes, pushing out to a 16-7 lead. The Shoremen's leading scorer Tim Kohlrus helped rally the home team with four of their seven points as Washington pulled with two at 16-14.

It was all JHU from there on out as the Blue Jays quickly turned a two-point lead into a double-digits. Junior Ryan Purcell (Schaumburg, IL/Schaumburg) hit from downtown to ignite the Blue Jays as they outscored the Shoremen 22-5 to take a 38-19 lead into the half. Six different players scored during the run for Hopkins, led by freshman John Alberici (West Chester, PA/Malvern Prep) with seven. The Blue Jays held the Shoremen to just 33.3 percent from the field while forcing 11 turnovers in the first half. Meanwhile, Hopkins shot 53.6 percent from the floor and dominated on the boards, 21-9.

Washington College would battle back in the second half behind 54.2 percent shooting, but Hopkins also had the hot hand. The Blue Jays maintained their double-digit lead to the buzzer as the Shoremen could get no closer than 10. Sophomore Andrew Farber-Miller (Charlottesville, VA/St. Anne's-Belfield) paced the Blue Jays in the second half, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the final 20 minutes. The Blue Jays also shot well in the second half, connecting at a 50.0 percent clip.

Polster led four Blue Jays in double figures with a game-high 19 points. He also had a career-high five steals. Roach punched up 11 points and grabbed 13 boards for his first career double-double. While Farber-Miller (13) and Alberici (11) also finished in double-figures. Kohlrus led the Shoremen with 15 points on the night. JHU was dominant on the boards, outrebounding Washington 36-18, including 25 defensive rebounds.

Hopkins, now tied for third in the Centennial Conference with McDaniel, takes on conference-leader Ursinus on Saturday at Goldfarb Gym. Prior to the 2:00 pm tip-off, the Johns Hopkins men's basketball alumni will do battle at noon in Goldfarb.