Chambers Pours in 20 Points in Victory

CHESTERTOWN, MD – Host Washington College shot 62% from the field in the second half and outscored visiting Johns Hopkins, 45-24, in the final 20 minutes en route to a 68-48 Centennial Conference victory over the Blue Jays tonight at Cain Athletic Center. The Shoremen (8-5, 6-3 Centennial) got 20 points and eight rebounds from senior guard/forward Andrew Chambers (Williamsport, MD/St. Maria Goretti) in the win and are on a four-game winning streak for the first time since December of 2005.

The Shoremen used a 15-2 run, thanks in large part to three three-pointers by Chambers, to build an 18-10 lead with 10:49 to go in the first half.  Hopkins (8-7, 4-4) answered with a 14-3 run to surge ahead, 24-21, on a three-pointer by Mike Rhoads with 1:37 to go in the period. Washington sophomore guard/forward Kevin Breslin (Hagerstown, MD/St. Maria Goretti) scored on a put-back as time expired in the half to cut the Hopkins advantage to 24-23 at the break.

Washington opened the second half with an 18-4 run to build a 41-28 lead following a free throw by senior forward James Whall (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) with 12:32 remaining. The Blue Jays got back to within seven points on a lay-up by Tim McCarty with 10:30 left that made it 43-36. Washington scored 11 of the next 12 points to break the game open as a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Sal Schittino (Ellicott City, MD/Loyola Blakefield) gave the Shoremen a 54-37 bulge with 5:42 to go. The Shoremen led by at least 14 points the rest of the way.

Chambers shot 5-for-11 from the field, including a 4-for-6 performance from long range. He was also 6-of-8 at the charity stripe. Breslin scored 11 points and swiped four steals and Schittino netted 10 points off the bench to join Chambers in double figures for Washington.

Andrew Farber-Miller led the Blue Jays with a game-high 22 points on 10-for-13 shooting and also collected eight boards. Rhoads added 11 points for Hopkins. Outside of Farber-Miller and Rhoads, the rest of the Hopkins team shot a collective 5-for-28 from the field in the game.

The Shoremen forced 21 Hopkins turnovers in the win while committing just 10.

In addition to enjoying their first four-game overall win streak in over four years, the Shoremen have now won four straight Centennial Conference regular season games for the first time since February 2001 and have beaten the Blue Jays three straight times for the first time since taking four in a row in the series over the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons. The 20-point margin of victory was the Shoremen's largest in the series since an 84-55 win on January 19, 1988.

The Shoremen return to action on Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game at McDaniel.