BALTIMORE, Md. - The Haverford College Men's Basketball team (4-11, 1-7 CC) suffered a defeat to a strong Johns Hopkins team (10-4, 7-1 CC), who is currently receiving points in the latest D3Hoops.com poll. The 98-61 victory for the Blue Jays took place inside Goldfarb Gymnasium on a windy Saturday afternoon.
Haverford started the contest off scorching hot, going on a 10-3 scoring run to prompt a Johns Hopkins timeout. The Fords began the day shooting 80 percent from the field and going 2-of-2 from the three-point line in the impressive start. Gabriel Franklin and Nick Klaiber both played a part in the notable scoring stretch, knocking down one triple each.
The Scarlet and Black kept their foot on the pedal following the Blue Jay timeout, rattling off a 9-5 scoring run to lead Johns Hopkins 19-8, Haverford'$ biggest lead of the game, with 12:19 remaining in the first half. Klaiber continued his excellent start, adding four more of the crucial nine points for the Fords.
Down by 11 points, the Blue Jays began to wake up and raced out to a 9-1 scoring run to pull within three points, 20-17, forcing Haverford to call a timeout with 8:50 remaining in the opening half. In the scoring spell, Johns Hopkins shot 80 percent from the field including one shot from behind the three-point arc.
Out of the timeout, the Blue Jays continued finding the bottom of the basket, outscoring the Fords 12-2 to go up 29-22 with 4:28 left in period number one. Johns Hopkins drilled two three-pointers from the hands of Brian Johansson in the momentum-shifting stretch.
Despite being able to get back into an offensive rhythm in the final minutes of the half, the Scarlet and Black were edged out by the Blue Jays, 11-7, and headed into the locker room down 40-29 at halftime.
Headed into the second half, Klaiber led all scorers with 12 points going 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point land. Franklin contributed seven points, while Logan Brown pulled down seven rebounds.
Three-pointers then began to rain down inside Goldfarb Gymnasium, as Carson James of Johns Hopkins and Gaven Marr of the Fords traded three-point baskets to start half number two. However, the Marr three couldn't combat the 10-6 scoring run of the Blue Jays, as Haverford quickly fell behind 50-35.
Coming off the timeout, Johns Hopkins took complete control of the game, racing out to a 17-3 scoring run to take a 29-point lead, 67-38. The Blue Jays splashed in four of five three pointers in the stretch, while James added six more points to his stat line.
Johns Hopkins continued to find the bottom of the basket out of another Haverford timeout, as 6-0 scoring run gave JHU a commanding 73-38 lead.
The rest of the second half saw the Fords and Blue Jays go back-and-forth, with the home team outpacing the Scarlet and Black 25-23. In the final eight-and-a-half minute stretch, Johns Hopkins shot an efficient 8-of-11 from the field, and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe to eventually win the matchup 98-61.
Klaiber (12 points) and Franklin (16 points) finished as the leading scorers for the Fords, while Brandon Banadda contributed nine points and Marr added eight.
The Blue Jays ended the contest with three players in double-digits for scoring, as James led all scorers with 21 points after going four of five from behind the three-point arc in the second half.
Next up for the Fords is a home matchup with rival Swarthmore on Wednesday, January 17, with tip-off slated for 5 p.m. The two teams will battle for a crucial point in the Hood Trophy rivalry. Following the highly-spirited contest, the Haverford Women's Basketball team will hit the hardwood against Swarthmore, tipping off at approximately 7 p.m.