HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's basketball team (4-19,1-15 CC) dropped a narrow contest in heartbreaking fashion to No. 20 Johns Hopkins (18-5,14-2 CC) on Saturday afternoon, falling by a 70-67 final in front of a raucous crowd inside Gooding '84 Arena.
Before the game, Haverford honored its five seniors (Gabriel Franklin, Brandon Banadda, Nicholas Stewart, Clay Killoren, and Will Hatfield) with a pregame ceremony.
Johns Hopkins found the basket early and often in the first five minutes of the opening half, going on a 12-0 scoring run to begin the contest, with Haverford still searching for answers. In the scoring stretch for the Blue Jays, Brian Johansson went 2-of-2 from three-point land, contributing six of the first 12 points of the contest.
Out of a timeout, the Fords began to show some life, outscoring the visitors 10-7 to pull within seven points, 17-10 ,with 10:02 to go in half number one. The Scarlet and Black were bolstered by four points each from Franklin and Logan Brown.
The Fords kept their foot on the pedal out of a JHU timeout, going on a 6-0 scoring stretch to pull within just one point, 17-16, with 8:41 remaining in the first half. Gaven Marr was the key contributor in the momentum-shifting run, getting fouled from behind the three-point line and sinking all three free-throws. Marr continued to propel Haverford in the next possession, knocking down his first three-pointer of the contest to cap off a 6-0 scoring run.
Coming off another Blue Jays timeout, the Fords took their first lead of the game thanks to a big time triple from Franklin at 19-17. After the big shot, both teams delivered haymakers to each other, with the visitors holding onto a 27-25 edge. John Windley of JHU guided the Blue Jays back into the game, scoring seven of the next 10 points.
Out of a timeout called by the hosts, both teams went back-and-forth yet again, with the Fords narrowly outscoring the opposition 5-4, to trail by just one at 31-30 heading into halftime. Franklin connected on two more shots including another three-pointer in the closing minutes of the first half.
At halftime, Windley led all scorers on the floor with 14 points, while Johansson posted 11 points. For the hosts, Franklin was the lone player in double figures, putting up 12 points.
Marr began the second half with a mid-range jumpshot to give the Scarlet and Black a 32-31 lead, only to have that lead taken away by the Blue Jays with a Sydney Thybulle layup. Windley pushed the lead to 35-32 with a layup, only for Haverford to score six unanswered points from three-point splashes from Banadda and Franklin.
With the battle even at 35 points a piece, JHU outscored Haverford 7-6 to take a one-point lead, 42-41 with 15:13 to go in the game. The Blue Jays saw three different scorers contribute in the stretch, including a shot from downtown by Brayden Fagbemi.
Off another Scarlet and Black timeout, Fagbemi continued what he started, nailing in two shots from behind the three-point arc to push the JHU lead to 48-43. A basket each by the Blue Jays and Fords pushed the score to 50-45 in favor of the visitors with 12:44 remaining in the closing half.
Fagbemi knocked in his third three-pointer in a row off the Haverford timeout to work the JHU lead up to an eight-point gap, 53-45 with 12:12 to go in the matchup.
Following a Scarlet and Black timeout at the 9:05 mark, with Johns Hopkins leading 58-49, the hosts began to get back into the matchup, outscoring the Blue Jays 14-10 to trail just 68-63 with 1:50 remaining in the frame. Marr rattled in five points in the stretch, which included draining three free-throws due to a foul on a three-point shot.
In a five-point game with under two minutes to go, a small 4-0 run for the Fords had the visitors sweating out just a 68-67 lead. Marr and Franklin both found nylon in the stretch to put the pressure on JHU. Two clutch free-throws from Johns Hopkins' Charlie Jackson gave the Blue Jays a tiny bit of breathing room, leading Haverford 70-67.
Off a missed free-throw from Thybulle with three seconds remaining, Franklin went for the spectacular, hoisting a shot from behind mid-court to try and send the game into overtime. The time-stopping shot soared through the air and hit back iron, as Haverford's heroic effort came up just short.
JHU had four players in double-figure scoring, with Windley pacing all Blue Jays with 20 points.
The Fords also had four scorers reach double figures, with Marr reaching the 20-point threshold as well after going 5-of-11 from the field, and a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Up next for Haverford, is another Hood Trophy clash at rival Swarthmore on Wednesday, February 14. The matchup will be worth half of a Hood Trophy point, and is slated to begin at 8 p.m. inside Tarble Pavilion. The game will follow the Haverford College Women's Basketball team, who will also be squaring off with the Garnet, with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m.