BALTIMORE, Md. – In a tale of two halves, Ursinus fell just short in a 74-71 Centennial Conference men's basketball contest at Johns Hopkins on Saturday. Michael Gardner's tie-breaking 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining gave the Blue Jays a sweep of the season series and sole possession of second place in the league standings.
Ursinus (11-8, 8-4) controlled play in the first half, shooting 47.5 percent from the field (19 for 40) and knocking down six 3-point baskets en route to opening up a 51-40 lead at intermission. But the Bears went cold in the second half, scoring just 20 points to allow Johns Hopkins (13-6, 9-3) to come from behind for a dramatic victory in the 16th Wall-O'Mahony game. The annual contest is played in honor of Glen Wall and Matt O'Mahony, 1984 Johns Hopkins graduates who died in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11. Junior Zach Quattro was named the Bears' MVP in Ursinus' first Wall-O'Mahony appearance since 2008.
Quattro scored 14 of his team-high 15 points in the first half and added 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double. Senior Matt Knowles chipped in 13 points, sophomore Eric Williams Jr. netted all 11 of his in the first half, and junior Joseph LoStracco joined them in double figures with 10 points.
The Bears never trailed in the first half and led by as many as 13 points (48-35) on a three-point play courtesy of Knowles with 2:18 to play. Kyle Doran, who finished with a game-high 18 points, netted the first six of the second stanza to ignite the Blue Jays' rally.
Doran's 3-pointer at the 11:34 mark brought Johns Hopkins level at 55, but Ursinus held the Blue Jays to just one point over the next six minutes to build a 64-56 advantage. Knowles contributed a triple, a free throw, and a layup as the Bears surged ahead, but a jumper by Gardner made it 69-61 with 3:32 remaining, and it was the Blue Jays' turn to make a run.
Sam Gordon sandwiched a three-point play and a bucket around a lay-up by Austin Vasiliadis to give the home team its first lead of the game, 69-68, with 2:00 to go. Junior Brian Rafferty responded with a three-point play before two free throws by Vasiliadis evened the score at 71 with exactly a minute left.
The Bears came up empty on their next possession, but looked to have gotten the necessary defensive stop when Vasiliadis missed a challenged leaner. But Gordon pulled down the offensive rebound to give the Blue Jays one final chance, and Gardner took advantage, crossing over to his right and sinking a deep jumper for the game-winning points.
Ryan Curran scored 15 points, Gardner posted 11, and Gordon had 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with five blocks for Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays shot 45.0 percent (27 of 60) and made nine 3-pointers after draining 15 in the teams' first meeting, a 77-75 Hopkins victory.
Quattro finished 5 for 11 from the field, while LoStracco was 5 for 8 and grabbed five offensive rebounds. Sophomore Zack Muredda had four points, five assists, and three steals. The Bears committed 16 turnovers, leading to 23 Blue Jays points.
Ursinus looks to bounce back on Wednesday, February 1, against Franklin & Marshall.