The Hopkins men's basketball team had a disappointing end to its season this past Saturday, losing its season-finale 63-57 to the Washington College Shoremen. The Jays managed to cut a 12-point deficit to two with about three minutes left in the game, but that was as close as they were able to get to the Shoremen. With the loss, Hopkins finishes its season at 12-13 overall and 7-11 in Centennial Conference play. It is the first losing season for the Jays in 15 years, and just its third overall in the 23 years the program has spent under head coach Bill Nelson. The Shoremen also finished with an overall record 12-13, with a 9-9 Centennial Conference record.
The first half was a hotly contested affair, as neither team was able to build more than a five-point lead. Andrew Chambers scored four straight points for Washington College in the final four minutes of the half to give his team a 23-22 lead going into the break. The fist six minutes of the second half went back and forth as well, as the lead changed 12 times during this stretch. Tim Kohlrus gave the Shoremen the lead for good when he made a three-point shot with 13:18 left in the game. That shot ignited a 15-4 Washington run that extended the Shoremen's lead to 12.
Hopkins made a final run with 7:11 left in the game, started by junior forward Andrew Farber-Miller hitting a layup, which sparked a 10-0 Hopkins run, during which Farber-Miller scored eight points to make it a two-point game with 2:54 remaining.
After a Washington College time-out, Sal Schittino nailed a jumpshot, which was followed up by a fast-break layup from Chambers. Senior guard Collin Kamm hit a layup that ended the Shoremen's seven-point run with a little under a minute remaining in the game. With time running out, Hopkins was forced to foul. The Shoremen went 4-6 from the foul line in the last seconds of the game, sealing the victory.
Farber-Miller was the high-scorer for the Jays, scoring 17 points and going 7-of-10 from the field and 3-5 from the foul line. Sophomore guard Mike Henrici added 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
Kamm also finished in double-figures, scoring 10 points. He was just shy of triple-double, adding eight rebounds and seven assists, in addition to four steals, in the all-around performance.
Kamm finishes his career at Hopkins with 538 points, 211 rebounds, 208 assists and 121 steals. He is just the fourth player in the history of the program with 500 career points, 200 assists and 100 steals. He ranks 11th all-time in minutes played with 2,266, 13th in assists and fifth in steals.
Other Hopkins seniors who ended their careers Saturday were guard Phil Beggans, guard Ryan Purcell and guard Scott Weisenfeld. Beggans finishes his career at Hopkins with 349 points and ranks 17th in career three-point field goal attempts with 174 and 15th in career three-point field goals made with 67.
Purcell scored a career-high 52 points for the Jays this season while shooting 12-of-36 from beyond the arc.
Weisenfeld finishes with 401 career points, 134 rebounds, 206 assists and 86 steals. He ranks 14th in both career assists and steals in program history. His 81 assists during the season are a career-high and the most by a Jay since Jake Stroman dished out 85 of his own in the 1999-2000 season.
"These four seniors will really be missed. Not only were they great contributors on the court but they were great leaders as well. It will be very hard to replace them," freshman forward Tim McCarty, who saw 16 minutes of action and scored five points for Hopkins, said.
The loss hurt the Jays, but they were able to take some positives from the season.
"It is unfortunate that the season ended the way it did, but as players, what we will each be taking away from this season carries far greater importance than any trophy or piece of net," junior guard Matt Dapas said. "We'll each be taking with us some great memories and friendships, and the returning players will be able to build upon the experiences gained from this season."
Kohlrus led Washington College with 24 points scored. Chambers added 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The Jays were able to win the battle of the boards, out-rebounding the Shoremen 40-36, but they shot just 39.7 percent from the floor. Hopkins sunk none of their 12 three-point attempts but went 52.4 percent from the free-throw line.
