The Blue Jays held a 56-46 lead with 8:49 remaining after a layup by Chris Morley, but Rowan responded with an 11-0 run to take a 57-56 lead with just over six minutes to play. Matt Byrnes scored seven points during the 11-0 run for the Profs, including a four-point play that sliced a 56-49 deficit to 56-53.
The first of Valerio’s three, three-pointers in the final six minutes gave the Blue Jays a 59-57 lead, but Billy Care answered with a three of his own to give Rowan its final lead at 60-59 with just under five minutes to go. A jumper by Nawrocki and back-to-back three-pointers by Valerio gave Hopkins a 67-60 lead, but the Profs answered with a three-pointer by Byrnes and later tied the game at 68 with 26 seconds remaining on a short jumper by Thomas Baker.
After each team burned a timeout, the Blue Jays worked the ball to Valerio, who nailed a tough leaning jumper in traffic to give the Blue Jays a 70-68 advantage. Rowan worked the full-court inbounds play to perfection, but Baker’s running attempt from in the lane rimmed out as time expired.
Valerio hit 7-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-10 from three-point range, to account for his 19-point effort. Nawrocki kept the Blue Jays alive before Valerio got hot as he added 15 points and 15 rebounds for his second double-double of the tournament. Senior Matt Griffin, who scored 17 points in opening-round win over Immaculata, added 11 points and six rebounds.
Byrnes totaled 51 points in the two games, including a game-high 24 against the Blue Jays. Freshman Santini Lancioni was the only other player in double figures for the Profs as he scored 10 points and added six assists. Kevin Darby added nine points and five rebounds for the Profs, who out-rebounded the Blue Jays, 44-39.
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Tuesday night (11-21) when the Blue Jays play St. Mary’s in the quarterfinals of the Provident Pride of Maryland Tournament. Rowan will play at Medgar Evers on Tuesday, November 21.