Quakers Down Johns Hopkins in NCAA Second-Round Game, 80-73

GAME STATISTICS

Baltimore, Md. (3/3/07) - Ben Strong scored a game-high 29 points and added nine rebounds in Guilford College's 80-73 win at Johns Hopkins University in an NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament second-round game. With their ninth win in 10 games, the Quakers' (23-4) advance to a 'Sweet Sixteen' matchup with Lincoln University March 9.

Strong made seven-of-10 field goals and scored 17 first-half points against the Blue Jays' (24-5) single-man defensive coverage. Thanks to Strong's play, the Quakers shot 66.7% from the floor in the period and opened a 44-31 edge at the break.

Johns Hopkins trailed Villa Julie by seven points at halftime in Friday's first-round game, but rallied for an 84-72 win. The Blue Jays mounted another comeback behind the strong inside play of Danny Nawrocki, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the second half. Poor free-throw shooting plagued the home team down the stretch as the Blue Jays missed 14 free throws, nine in the second half.

A Justin Strickland three-pointer opened a 68-52 Guilford lead with 6:36 remaining, but Johns Hopkins answered with a 13-3 run over the next three-and-half minutes. Doug Polster's three-pointer with 3:00 left capped the spurt and drew the home team to within 71-65, their smallest deficit since early in the first half.

Caleb Kimbrough's jumper in the lane and Thomas Burge's lay-up off a very long rebound restored Guilford's lead to 77-67 with 1:52 remaining. Johns Hopkins managed only one field goal the rest of the way and Guilford's Clay Henson made three-of-four free throws in the final minute to preserve the win.

Strong made 11-of-17 field goals and seven-of-11 free throws for his 17th 20-point game of the year. He also grabbed a team-high nine boards and blocked two shots.  Henson and Jordan Snipes added 12 points apiece and Kimbrough finished with 10 opints and three assists.

Nawrocki and T.J. Valerio shared team-high scoring honors for Johns Hopkins with 17 points apiece. Nawrocki, who made one-of-eight free throws, grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. Valerio made three-of-four three-pointers in the opening period, but struggled to one-for-seven three-point shooting in the second half.

Guilford plays Lincoln March 9 in a four-team sectional March 9. Guilford's Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) rival Virginia Wesleyan College and Mississippi College comprise the rest of the field, which will play on one of the competing school's campuses.

The Quakers 23' wins match the program's most since a 23-10 campaign in 1977-78. Guilford is 23-4 for the first time since 1974-75.