Box Score

BALTIMORE – Johns Hopkins used a big comeback for the second game in a row, rallying from a 17-point second-half deficit as the 10th-ranked Blue Jays topped the Bullets 66-54 in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action Wednesday evening in Goldfarb Gym.
 
Despite the loss, Gettysburg (11-11, 7-8 CC) still holds a one-game lead over Muhlenberg and Ursinus, who both lost on Wednesday, for the fifth and final spot in the Centennial Conference playoffs.
 
Junior center Kevin Gladstone (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bullets, who led 31-21 at halftime. Sophomore forward Tanner Kirkpatrick (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) added nine points while senior guard Sean Gordon (Broomall, Pa./Malvern Prep) grabbed seven rebounds.
 
Jimmy Hammer netted 20 points to lead Johns Hopkins (20-2, 14-1 CC), which also came from 20 points down to win at Swarthmore this past Saturday. George Bugarinovic posted 14 points and 10 rebounds while Ryan Curran contributed 14 points and seven rebounds.
 
After three ties and six lead changes over the opening 10:40, the Bullets took control with an 11-2 run. Gladstone kicked off the spurt with a 3-pointer, then capped it with an off-balanced runner to put his team up 21-13 with 5:08 to go in the half. Gettysburg led by at least six over the remainder of the period, and freshman guard Alex Kaslander (Verona, N.J./Verona) nailed a trey with 23 seconds left to hand Gettysburg a 31-21 cushion at the break.
 
The Bullets limited the Blue Jays to 27.6 percent shooting in the first half while knocking down 50 percent of its shots. Gladstone scored 14 of his points on 6-of-8 shooting over the opening 20 minutes.
 
Gettysburg opened the second half on a 7-0 spurt to push its lead to 38-21 with 18:16 left following a baseline jumper from Gordon. But that's when Hopkins embarked on a 20-0 run, holding the Bullets scoreless for nearly nine minutes.
 
Gladstone ended the drought for Gettysburg when he knocked down a jumper with 9:19 left to make it 41-40 in favor of the Blue Jays before sophomore guard Pete Christ (Pittstown, N.J./Delaware Valley Regional) converted from the left baseline to put the Bullets back up, 42-41. However, Curran would make four straight free throws on back-to-back possessions as Hopkins took the lead for good.
 
Gettysburg pulled to within one on three occasions the rest of the way, the last coming on a lay-up from Gordon with 5:10 remaining that made it 49-48. After a 7-0 Hopkins surge, the Bullets made one last run when Gladstone nailed another triple before splitting a trip at the free throw line with 2:06 left to make it 56-52. But on the ensuing possession, Luke Chambers hit a big 3-pointer on a kick-out for the Blue Jays, who went on to salt their victory by making seven straight free throws inside the final 43 seconds.
 
The Bullets play their final regular-season road game on Saturday, when they visit Haverford College in a Centennial Conference tilt starting at 3 p.m.