Curran leads men’s basketball to victory

On Jan. 7, the men’s basketball team went on the road to square off against Centennial Conference foe Haverford. In that contest, the Blue Jays raced off to an early 25 point lead thanks to some lights-out shooting performances and attacking perimeter defense. In a similar fashion, the 17-2 Jays erupted out of the gate on a 20-5 run against the same Haverford squad at home on Saturday, led primarily by the scoring efforts of standout sophomore forward Ryan Curran.

Curran scored seven of the team’s 12 points to open the contest, ultimately pacing himself to a team- and career-high 22-point effort (on an ultra efficient 9-10 from the field). Hopkins cruised to a 96-54 victory, improving its mark to 11-1 in the Centennial and solidifying its status as top contenders for the Conference Crown.

It is important to note how much this team has grown since the beginning of the season, and one has to look no further than its earlier Haverford contest for confirmation. A number of mental lapses and poor shooting allowed Haverford to creep back into that game, and a once daunting lead had all but evaporated by the end of regulation.

Curran, when asked to comment on his team’s improved ability to close out opponents, suggested that the earlier Haverford result taught the Jays to never take a margin for granted in the final minutes.

“The team was really focused for this game on not blowing our lead. We played Haverford earlier in the year and gave up a 25 point lead in the second half but luckily saved ourselves with a buzzer beater to win. Because of that first game, I really think the team knew we couldn’t ease up once we gained a big lead early on in the game,” Curran said.

Hopkins was able to put together two consecutive dominant halves against the Fords this time around, thanks primarily to a game plan that relied on exploiting the significant size advantage the Jays had over their opponent.

“I feel like I played particularly well because Haverford is not a very big team. Our game plan was to get the ball inside and to take advantage of their undersized post players. My teammates did a great job finding me early on as we extended the lead,” Curran added.

Hopkins was able to extend its lead to 22 with 8:32 remaining in the first half, capped off by a resounding dunk by junior forward Matt Billups to make it a 33-11 margin. The Jays would lead by 23 at the break, and Haverford would not get any closer the rest of the contest, as the Jays continued to extend their margin well into the second half. The victory made it 14 straight now for Hopkins, a mark that can only be regarded as an extraordinary team achievement.

Standout senior George Bugarinovic, who finished the game with 16 points, six boards and a block, commented on the truly remarkable season this talented team is having and expectations for the remainder of the campaign.

“Our team is on a pretty special winning streak at the moment,” Bugarinovic said. “It’s a great feeling knowing it’s the longest one in school history. We know that every Centennial Conference win is huge for us, since one of our goals is to host the conference tournament at the end of the season. But we realize that there is a lot of basketball left to be played. Our last loss came at the hands of Franklin & Marshall in November, and we’re going to their place on Wednesday, so that’s a match-up we’re looking forward to.”

As one of the many seniors on this experience-laden squad, Bugarinovic also discussed building off of the team’s NCAA tournament appearance last season with hopes to potentially chase a national title.

“As a senior playing the last of my basketball career, I definitely hope to go out on a high note,” Bugarinovic said.  “Building on last year’s success of making the NCAA tournament would be a great feeling. We’ve seen this season that we can play against the best teams in the country if we’re at the top of our game. Hopefully we’re firing on all cylinders come time for postseason play.”

In the victory, other notable contributors included freshman forward Kyle Doran, who finished with a career-best 11 points, and junior guard Austin Vasiliadis, who finished with seven points to go along with seven assists.