Dec. 1, 2007

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Senior guard Doug Polster (Bernardsville, NJ/Bernards) punched up 20 points to lead Johns Hopkins to a 73-59 win over Swarthmore in Centennial Conference action at Goldfarb Gym on Saturday. The Blue Jays (4-3, 1-1 CC) have now won seven straight over the Garnet (2-3, 0-2 CC).

The lead changed hands four times in the game's opening three minutes as the Blue Jays and Garnet traded buckets. Sophomore Pat O'Connell (Baltimore, MD/Loyola Blakefield) connected on a three to give Hopkins a 7-6 lead, a lead it would not relinquish. That trey from O'Connell ignited a 16-3 Blue Jays' run as they pushed out to a 20-9 lead with 12:03 to play in the half.

Raul Ordonez and Steve Wolf sandwiched a pair of lay-ups around an Ian McCormick free throw and Hopkins lead was down to six with less than 10 minutes to play. Hopkins built its lead back to 10 before Swarthmore chipped away, making it a 27-22 game after a three-pointer from Sam Lacy. The Blue Jays once again answered with six quick points from Polster and freshman John Alberici (West Chester, PA/Malvern Prep). But the Garnet also had an answer as McCormick hit a lay-up and then a pair of free throws, trimming it to a 33-26 game with just 24 seconds on the clock. However, Hopkins got the final say as junior Scott Weisenfeld (Mt. Kisco, NY/Horace-Greeley) grabbed an offensive rebound and dished it to sophomore Adam Baumgartner (Reston, VA/Bishop O'Connell), who hit a lay-up at the buzzer.

Leading 35-26 coming out of the half, Hopkins quickly jumped on Swarthmore with a 9-2 run to take a 16-point lead. The Blue Jays maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, pushing it to as much as 21 points midway through the half. Polster scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half as Hopkins shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 71.4 percent from the free throw line. Helping the Blue Jays cause, they turned the ball over just 10 times in the game while forcing 18 Garnet turnovers.

Junior Collin Kamm (Avon, NJ/Saint Rose) also hit in double figures for Hopkins, scoring 13 points, along with two steals and three assists. Sophomore Andrew Farber-Miller (Charlottesville, VA/St. Anne's-Belfield) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go with his seven points. McCormick paced the Swarthmore offense, posting a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Ordonez (13 points) and Wolf (11 points) also scored in double figures for the Garnet.

Hopkins closes out the year with a pair of road games against Gettysburg and Dickinson. Hopkins travels to Gettysburg on Wednesday, December 5 for an 8:00 pm tip. The Blue Jays then visit the Dickinson Red Devils on Saturday, December 8 for a 4:00 pm contest.