Box Score (Baltimore, Md.) – The Dickinson men's basketball team survived a furious comeback by Johns Hopkins, holding off the Blue Jays, 74-73, in Baltimore, earning a key Centennial Conference win on Wednesday night. The Red Devils improve to 11-6, earning one of hte five playoff spots in the conference tournament.
The Blue Jays struck first and took an early 4-0 lead. Senior Ted Hinnenkamp (York, Pa./York Suburban) answered with a strong move to basket and a pair of free throws to tie the game. He pulled down an offensive rebound and scored again to give the Devils the lead.
Hopkins countered with a lay-up and a three-pointer from Gene Williams to lead 9-8, after Moses Romocki (Creedmoor, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) made a strong move on the baseline.
Hinnenkamp capitalized on two offensive rebounds with an old fashion three-point play to give the Devils an 11-9 advantage. He followed up with another rebound and put-back, and Romocki tipped in another for a 15-9 lead at the 12:39 mark.
Hinnenkamp scored his 13th point on a quick outlet to put the Devils up by seven. Robert Picka (Timonium, Md./Dulaney) came on and scored on his signature hook shot and came up with a block on the other end.
Jesse Flannery knocked down a three-pointer and hit a lay-up to match scores from Picka and Elijah Wright (Orange, N.J./The Pennington School) for a 23-16, Dickinson lead. Flannery closed the gap, hitting 2-of-3 free throws.
Brandon Angradi (Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley) triggered a run, hitting a three-pointer from the corner. Jule Brown (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) dished a nice feed to Justus Melton (Charlotte, N.C./Convenant Day) and Romocki scored off the break for a 30-20 advantage.
Max McKee hit a three-pointer and Melton quickly scored a lay-up. Angradi hit a deep three from the top of the key and came up with a steal that would lead to a Mike Hinckley (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Episcopal Academy) jumper and a Hopkins timeout at the 4:29 mark.
The Blue Jays cut the lead to 12 but Brown came back with a three-pointer from the corner. Hopkins kept battling, cutting the deficit to eight with the help of another Williams triple.
Brown hit a pair of free throws and Hopkins closed out the half with back-to-back scores to make the score, 42-34 at halftime.
The Blue Jays cut the lead to five to start the second half while Hinnenkamp picked-up his third foul. Angradi would knock down a three-pointer to stretch the lead back to 11, with 14 minutes to play in the game.
He countered a pair of free throws with another bomb from the corner for a 54-42 advantage. Wright tallied a pair of baskets to start the third, the second forcing a timeout with Dickinson on top, 56-42. Angradi hit another three-pointer as the Devils looked to gain some breathing room.
Nikhil Penu hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 15. Three free throws and another triple pulled the Blue Jays within nine. Hinnenkamp went back-and-forth with Hopkins, giving Dickinson a 65-55 lead with just over six minutes remaining.
Flannery scored but would be flagged with a foul and a technical, leading to a 68-57, Dickinson lead. Hopkins chipped away once again, cutting the deficit to just six, with under four minutes to play.
A big rebound and put-back by Ryan Curran made it a four-point game with 2:59 on the clock. The Blue Jays made a pair of defensive stops, but couldn't convert as the Devils held as well. Romocki came down with a huge offensive rebound, drawing a foul with 47 seconds to play. He rattled home the first and hit the second after a timeout, to make the score 72-66.
Curran hit two free throws and Hopkins forced a turnover. Williams connected on a three-pointer, cutting the lead to just one with 18 seconds to play. Hinckley hit two free throws to stretch the margin to three.
Kyle Doran stepped inside the arc and hit a jumper at the five second mark. The Devils missed both free throws but Hopkins' final attempt for the win was off the mark as Dickinson came away with the 74-73 victory.
Hinnenkamp's strong start led to a game-high 19 points while senior classmate Angradi tallied five three-pointers to finish with 17 points on the night. Wright added eight points, nine rebounds and four assists while Romocki finished with eight points and five rebounds.
Picka scored five points and controlled five rebounds. Brown and Hinckley each dished out three assists, combining for 11 points with Brown adding three steals.
Williams finished with four three-pointers to lead Johns Hopkins (12-12, 9-8 CC) with 14 points.
The Red Devils improve to 12-12 overall and 11-6 in the conference. The Red Devils travel to Franklin & Marshall for the final match-up of the regular season with tip-off set for 3:00 pm.
