Ian On Double Time, Jays Top Garnet
BALTIMORE -- Swarthmore senior center Ian McCormick posted the 21st double-double of his career, yet cold shooting did in the Garnet men on Saturday afternoon, as Johns Hopkins cruised to a 73-59 victory in Centennial basketball action at Goldfarb Gymnasium.
The hometown Blue Jays improved to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Centennial behind a game-high 20 points from senior guard Doug Polster (Bernardsville, N.J. / Bernards). Back-court mate Collin Kamm (Avon, N.J. / Saint Rose) added 13 points, three assists and two steals.
McCormick finished the afternoon with team-highs of 19 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.
The Blue Jays took the ball right at the Garnet, opening a 16-6 lead as forward Andrew Farber-Miller (Worcester, Mass. / Worcester Academy) scored seven points. McCormick cut the 12-2 JHU run short, finishing off a feed from sophomore guard Matt Allen (Seattle, Wash. / Lakeside) at 15:07.
Three McCormick free throws and a Sam Lacy ’11 (Jericho, Vt. / Jericho) three-pointer at 3:43 brought Swarthmore within five, 27-22, but Polster dropped in seven consecutive points for the Blue Jays to give the home team a 35-26 advantage at halftime.
McCormick led all scorers in the first half, hitting 6-of-9 from the free throw line for 10 points. He also added four blocks and two assists in the first 20 minutes.
Farber-Miller and Polster recorded seven points apiece as the Blue Jays shot 47.1% (16 for 34) from the floor and turned 11 Swarthmore turnovers into 13 points.
It was all Johns Hopkins coming out of the locker room—Polster scored a jumper and knocked down a pair at the line to ignite a 13-5 Blue Jay run. Freshman forward John Alberici (West Chester, Pa. / Malvern Prep) finished a fast-break at 13:41 to put Hopkins up 48-31 with 13:29 to play.
The lead grew to as much as 21 at one point (57-36 JHU at 8:47) but the Swarthmore fought back.
Two free throws by senior guard Noam Fliegelman (Philadelphia, Pa. / Central) got the visitors within 14 with just under five minutes to play. Junior forward Raul Ordonez (Miami, Fla. / Belen Jesuit) finished a three-point play at 4:03 but Kamm responded with an elbow-line jumper to keep the Blue Jays up 64-50.
Back to back triples by Polster, with 2:40 to go, sealed the win for the Blue Jays (4-3 overall, 1-1 CC).
Swarthmore’s inside presence continued to cause fits for its opponents, drawing 25 JHU fouls. The Garnet paraded to the free throw line (31 attempts to the Blue Jays’ 18), yet could not take advantage making just 48.8% (15 for 31).
The Garnet out-rebounded the Blue Jays 41-34, yet that margin was neutralized as JHU forced 18 Swarthmore turnovers while committing just 10.
Swarthmore senior forward Steve Wolf (Philadelphia, Pa. / Father Judge) finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Ordonez hit double digits for the second time this season, collecting 13 points and seven rebounds.
McCormick has hit double figures in scoring in 19 of his last 20 games. He currently is averaging 4.2 blocks per game, among the best in the Centennial
Swarthmore (2-3 overall, 1-1 CC) concludes its four-game road trip Wednesday night in Allentown, Pa., taking on the Muhlenberg Mules in Centennial action starting at 7:30 p.m.