Jan. 9, 2006

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Gunning for its eighth win overall and sixth in a row in Centennial Conference games, the Johns Hopkins men's basketball team (7-2, 5-0 Centennial) looks for its 10th win of the season in game at Haverford (4-6, 3-2 Centennial) on Tuesday night.

Along with eight wins in a row, the Blue Jays are in search of a school-record fourth consecutive game with 90 or more points. Hopkins matched the old mark of three straight, set Jan 19-24, 1989, with a 90-70 win at Washington College on Saturday afternoon. Helping fuel the string of wins and points scored has been the shooting of the Blue Jays, who have shot better than 50 percent from the field in six straight games.

Last time out

Johns Hopkins pulled away from host Washington College in the second half en route to a 90-70 Centennial Conference men's basketball win over the Shoremen on Saturday afternoon at Cain Athletic Center.

Washington, which trailed 41-36 at halftime, took its only lead of the game on a three-pointer by Jonathan Webb that gave the Shoremen a 55-54 advantage with 13:28 to play in the second half. Hopkins immediately responded with an 11-2 run, however, capped off by a Zack Armen lay-up with 10:43 to go that put the Blue Jays up, 65-57. Hopkins led by at least six points the rest of the way and ended the game on a 14-4 run.

The Blue Jays shot 53 percent from the field in the game to Washington's 34 percent. Hopkins dominated the boards, out-rebounding Washington, 54-29.

T.J. Valerio led a balanced Hopkins offense with 18 points, while junior Matt Griffin finished with 16 points. Danny Nawrocki and sophomore Doug Polster also reached double figures in scoring for the Blue Jays, with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Chris Morley came off the bench to score nine points, pull down a game-high 14 rebounds, dish out a game-best five assists, and block two shots.

Scouting Haverford

Haverford snapped a two-game losing streak and upped its Centennial Conference record to 3-2 with a 73-63 win at McDaniel on Saturday afternoon. Four scorers reached double-figures for the Fords, led by 24 points from David Nowacki. Nowacki, who shot 8-of-12 from the field, was one rebound shy of a double-double. Johhny Elefterakis put up 15 points and pulled in 11 rebounds for the Fords.

Before Saturday's win, it was nearly a month since Haverford won its last game. Before the holiday break, the Fords fell 76-44 at Bucknell, a team that has wins at Syracuse and DePaul this season. In 2005, the Bison knocked third-seeded Kansas out the NCAA Tournament. The Fords started the new year slow, absorbing a 74-57 loss at Drew on Jan. 4.

Haverford brings a balanced offensive attack to the table, as five of the team's regular starters average seven or more points per game. Leading the group is Elefterakis, with 13.4 points per game. Jason Polykoff is also a double-figure contributor, scoring 10.4 points per game for the Fords.

Last meeting

Mark Gabriel scored a game-high 23 points and Matt Stein added 19 as the Haverford knocked off visiting Johns Hopkins, 71-53 in the first round of the 2005 Centennial Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Feb. 24.

A 14-2 spurt midway through the second half extended a five-point lead to 17 and all but sealed Haverford's first-ever trip to the Centennial semifinals. The Blue Jays pulled within 53-40 with 6:31 remaining, but Stein hit back-to-back jumpers to push the lead back to 17.

After the teams battled to a 15-15 tie through 12 minutes, the Fords sprinted to a 32-21 halftime lead as Gabriel and Stein combined for 24 points before intermission. The Blue Jays were within 24-21 with just over three minutes remaining in the first half, but back-to-back jumpers by Gabriel ignited an 8-0 half-ending run that extended the lead to 11 at intermission. T.J. Valerio's three-pointer at the 13:06 mark of the second half ended the early surge for the Blue Jays after halftime, but a Bass layup and three-pointer ignited to the ensuing 14-2 run for the Fords.

Valerio led the Blue Jays with 19 points, while Danny Nawrocki added 10 points. Nawrocki pulled in 16 rebounds, a Centennial Conference Tournament record.

High-flying offense

In their last three outings, the Blue Jays have scored 90 or more points, going 3-0 in the process. Hopkins has scored 90 or more points in back-to-back games five other times in program history.

Feb 10, 1991: Hopkins 93, Washington Univ. 87
Feb. 13, 1991: Hopkins 05, Haverford 56

Jan 19, 1989: Hopkins 90, Western Maryland 88
Jan 21, 1989: Hopkins 101, Haverford 62
Jan. 24, 1989: Hopkins 99, Messiah 62

Dec. 8, 1983: Hopkins 96, Lebanon Valley 84
Dec. 10, 1983: Hopkins 95, Cabrini 63

Dec. 7, 1974: Hopkins 100, Coppin State 84
Jan. 6, 1975: Hopkins 100, Swarthmore 75

Dec. 6, 1972: Catholic 102, Hopkins 96
Dec. 9, 1972: Hopkins 100, Swarthmore 79

Going streaking

Since suffering a 91-55 loss at Furman on Nov. 26, the Blue Jays have reeled off seven straight wins, including five in a row in Centennial Conference play.

The longest win streak for Hopkins during the Bill Nelson era happened in the 1993-94 season, when the Blue Jays strung together 10 straight. In Centennial Conference play, Hopkins has won six in a row during the 1997-98 and 2003-04 seasons. The Blue Jays advanced to the NCAA Tournament in '94 and `98.

Since 2000, the longest win streaks for the Blue Jays have been seven during the 2003-04 season and six during the 2002-03 season.