News Release

BALTIMORE, Md. — Johns Hopkins junior T.J. Valerio delivered his second straight game with 24 points to send the Blue Jays to an 86-73 win over Dickinson in Centennial Conference men’s basketball on Saturday at Goldfarb Gym.

Valerio netted 17 of his game-high 24 in the second half, to help the Blue Jays (13-3, 9-1) pull away from the Red Devils (4-13, 2-8). After canning a three-pointer to put Hopkins up, 59-45, with 11:18 remaining, Valerio knocked down 8-of-8 tries from the free throw line the rest of the way.

For the game, the junior guard made 13-of-14 attempts from the stripe. From the field, Valerio connected on 4-of-8 shots, including three from beyond the arc. His six assists were a career-high.

Midway through the first half, Dickinson made three straight field goals to claim a 23-22 advantage. The Red Devils expanded their advantage to four on two occasions, before Hopkins embarked on an 8-2 run to end the half, punctuated by Danny Nawrocki’s jumper in the lane with :01 showing on the clock, giving the Blue Jays a 38-36 lead at the break.

In the second half, Dickinson was whistled for 21 personal fouls, giving the Blue Jays 31 chances at the stripe. Hopkins made good on 26, shooting 83.9 percent for the half. For the game, the Blue Jays hit on 37-of-43 tries (86.0%) to establish a new school single-game record for free throws made.

The previous record was 35, which the Blue Jays did twice before. The last time Hopkins turned the feat was in a game against Roanoke on Nov. 25, 2001.

Three other Blue Jays reached the double-figure scoring plateau, led by junior Danny Nawrocki’s 15. Nawrocki converted on 6-of-9 attempts from the floor and pulled in 12 rebounds to earn his seventh double-double of the season.

Senior Bobby Sharafeddin and junior Matt Griffin also got to twin figures with 14 and 12, respectively.

Senior Matt Keys led four Red Devils in double figures with 16 points. Keys hit on 4-of-7 chances from three-point range. Freshman Kizmahr Grell added 12 points, while freshmen Mike Geosits and Cory Kenny netted 11.

Before beginning a three-game homestand, Johns Hopkins will take to the road and face the Bullets of Gettysburg College on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m.

JOHNS HOPKINS 86, DICKINSON 73
DICKINSON (4-13, 2-8 CC)
Matt Keys 5-13 2-2 16; Kizmahr Grell 3-8 6-9 12; Mike Geosits 2-3 7-9 11;
Cory Kenny 3-6 3-4 11; Jon Skvarka 3-7 0-0 7; Travis Doll 3-6 0-0 6; Brad
Litchfield 1-6 4-4 6; Mark Harrison 1-2 0-0 2; Nick Leonardelli 1-1 0-0 2;
Dan Sarsfield 0-1 0-0 0; Nick Good 0-0 0-0 0; Jamaal Bengamin 0-0 0-0 0; Pat
Coyle 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 22-28 73.
JOHNS HOPKINS (13-3, 9-1 CC)
T.J. Valerio 4-8 13-14 24; Danny Nawrocki 6-9 3-6 15; Bobby Sharafeddin 3-7
7-7 14; Matt Griffin 3-4 6-6 12; Terence Coppola 2-2 2-2 8; Jeff Thompson
1-2 3-4 6; Chris Morley 2-2 1-2 5; Zack Armen 0-3 2-2 2; Scott Weisenfeld
0-1 0-0 0; Doug Polster 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-40 37-43 86.
Dickinson.....................   36   37  -   73
Johns Hopkins.................   38   48  -   86
3-point goals-Dickinson 7-18 (Matt Keys 4-7; Cory Kenny 2-3; Jon Skvarka
1-4; Brad Litchfield 0-1; Pat Coyle 0-2; Kizmahr Grell 0-1), Johns Hopkins
7-14 (T.J. Valerio 3-6; Terence Coppola 2-2; Bobby Sharafeddin 1-3; Jeff
Thompson 1-1; Doug Polster 0-2). Fouled out--Dickinson-Jon Skvarka; Brad
Litchfield, Johns Hopkins-None. Rebounds-Dickinson 30 (Travis Doll 7), Johns
Hopkins 31 (Danny Nawrocki 12). Assists-Dickinson 10 (Kizmahr Grell 3),
Johns Hopkins 16 (T.J. Valerio 6). Total fouls-Dickinson 33, Johns Hopkins
22. A-125