Greg Roehrig showed last night why he is a Centennial Conference All-Star and one of the best to play at Johns Hopkins.
After scoring just six points in the first half, the 6-foot-7 senior forward scored nine of his team-high 15 points in the second half, including a layup with 13.4 seconds left that propelled the Blue Jays to a 60-59 victory over Washington College in the conference tournament semifinals at Hopkins' Newton H. White Center.
Hopkins (20-5) wiped out an eight-point deficit in the final 1: 26 to win for the 12th time in 13 games and advance to the conference final for the first time since 1994. The Blue Jays, who have an 18-game regular-season winning streak, will play host to Muhlenberg on Saturday at 8 p.m. The winner gets an automatic berth to the Division III NCAA tournament.
"Jonathan Olson made a great entry pass to me, and once I got the ball, I knew my man would shuffle over and I'd get a shot," Roehrig said.
The Shoremen's Bradd Burkhart led all scorers with 21 points.
Hopkins' late rally was built on three straight three-pointers, two by senior point guard Kamau Coar, to get within 59-58 with 28.4 seconds left.
The Shoremen (14-12) missed consecutive one-and-one opportunities to set up Roehrig's decisive basket.
"I had actually called for another play, but Matt Geschke, one of our guards, said to run a power play inside. So we did," said Hopkins coach Bill Nelson.
Washington College appeared to be in control, taking its largest lead at 57-49 with 1: 26 left after Steve DeVore, who had 13 second-half points, scored his seventh straight point with a three-pointer.
But the Shoremen managed only two free throws the rest of the way as their four-game winning streak ended.
"When you get to the line at the end of the game, you have to make your free throws," Shoremen coach Tom Finnegan said.
Pub Date: 2/26/98
