HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team put forth another strong defensive showing Thursday evening inside the Gooding '84 Arena, but ultimately fell short by a 61-50 score against visiting Johns Hopkins. The game was a two point difference with less than four minutes to play before a late run from the Blue Jays sealed the victory.
Thursday's Centennial Conference contest also marked the first time that Johns Hopkins' freshman Michael Gardner played inside the athletic center named in honor of his late father, Douglas Gardner '83. Coming off the bench and playing 13 minutes, Gardner collected two points, one rebound, one assist and one steal on the evening. Johns Hopkins was led by 13 points off the bench from Niko Kotoulas, while Jesse Flannery added 12 more.
Haverford distributed the ball well as three players finished the game in double figures. Kahlil Garnes led the Fords with 11 points off the bench. In the starting lineup, Walt Plumlee and Matt Sherman each added another double digit scoring game to their respective resumes as both poured in an even 10 points. On the defensive end, Joe Scibelli pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds.
Defense was the name of the game early on as the Fords held a 5-4 advantage following a three-pointer from Plumlee just over six minutes into the contest. Plumlee came back just over 10 minutes later to give Haverford an 11-10 edge on a jumper as the Haverford defense held Johns Hopkins to just six made field goals in the opening half and forced the Blue Jays into committing eight turnovers during that time.
The Fords pushed their lead to a game-best 21-16 advantage just before the end of the first. Haverford's 8-0 run was capped by an old fashioned three-point play from Rohan Shukla before a Johns Hopkins' layup right at the end of the first half set the score at 21-18 heading into the locker rooms.
Both teams began to find their way on the offensive end as the game progressed. Haverford held the lead during the opening minutes of half, but a 10-0 push from the visitors gave them a nine point lead with just under 13 minutes remaining. As has been the case so many times this season, a comeback was needed and the Fords responded with a steal and easy layup from Garnes that sparked a 10-2 run in favor of Haverford. Garnes ended that torrid offensive stretch with another layup to make the score 36-35 with 10 minutes remaining.
Nevertheless, three straight offensive possessions with points for the Blue Jays pushed their advantage up to eight. Again, the Fords countered and got the game within two as Scibelli was in position for one of his four offensive rebounds as he got the tip-in to go. That basket got his team within two, 47-45, with 5:25 to go. Trading points, Johns Hopkins led 50-48 with 3:41 to play after Garnes knocked down a pair of free throws. However, a late 7-0 run from the guests swung the momentum, and ultimately the final 61-50 score, in their favor.
Men's basketball will now head out on the road this Saturday as the team travels to Gettysburg for a scheduled 3 p.m. tip. The women's game with the Bullets will serve as the opening game for the Centennial Conference doubleheader with a 1 p.m. start time.