Feb. 6, 2006

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Johns Hopkins renews its longtime rivalry with McDaniel on Wednesday (Feb. 8), as the teams meet in a Centennial Conference men's basketball matchup at 7 p.m.

The Blue Jays (16-4, 12-2) and Green Terror (8-13, 6-8) tussle for the 134th time and in a scheduling rarity, for the third time this regular season. Hopkins and McDaniel faced each other in the semifinals of the Pride of Maryland Tournament, hosted by Villa Julie College, on Nov. 19, with the Blue Jays holding off a Green Terror rally in the final 3:30 to claim an 88-80 win.

In the second meeting, it was all Hopkins as Danny Nawrocki racked up 21 points and 16 rebounds to power the Blue Jays past McDaniel, 80-59 at Goldfarb Gym on Dec. 6.

Since the 1997-98 season, Hopkins is 17-1 against McDaniel.

Scouting McDaniel

The Green Terror looks to extend their win streak to three games, when they host rival Johns Hopkins on Wednesday.

Rebouding from a five-game Centennial Conference losing streak in the second part of January, McDaniel has picked up wins in its last two outings, including Saturday's clipping of Swarthmore, 73-71, at the Gill Center. After opening up a 71-57 advantage with 6:08 remaining, the Garnet Tide scored 12 unanswered points, before free throws from Mike Dipiero and Will Talesnick gave McDaniel the go-ahead points. Making only his second career start, Devin Keeny scored 20 points for the Terror.

Leading the Green Terror offensively is Josh McKay with 12.4 points per game, to go along with 5.6 assists. Talesnick is the only other scorer averaging in double figures, with 12 points per contest. Dipiero is averaging four assists per outing, while shooting 79 percent from the free throw stripe.

In the race for the final berth in the Centennial Conference Tournament, McDaniel is tied with Haverford and Muhlenberg for the final playoff spot. McDaniel lost the season series to Haverford, 2-0, but holds a 1-0 advantage over Muhlenberg, with the two teams scheduled to meet on Feb. 11.

Notes on the Blue Jays

• After scoring only 52 points against Swarthmore on Feb. 1, Hopkins turned the offense back on, pouring in 85 points in the win over Haverford. In home wins this season, the Blue Jays are averaging 72.9 points per game with seven 80-point outputs.
• Matt Griffin led the Blue Jays in scoring for the third straight game on Saturday, racking up 21 points by shooting nine-of-13 from the field and three-for-three at the free throw stripe. Griffin posted his fifth 20-point effort this season and his fourth since the beginning of the new year.
• The nine points scored by Hopkins' bench against Haverford was the lowest total of the season for the Blue Jays. Hopkins starters scored 76 of the team's 85 points, as only Chris Morley (five points) and Chris Ludgate (four points) scored off the bench.
• Saturday's win marked the third time this season that two Blue Jays reached the 20-point plateau. Against the Fords, Matt Griffin punched up 21 while Jeff Thompson poured in a career-high 20 on Senior Day. Danny Nawrocki combined with Griffin for 23 points each in a loss at Villa Julie on Nov. 20, while Nawrocki and T.J. Valerio had 27 and 21, respectively, in a win over Buffalo State on Jan. 4.