Championship Central

Top seeds Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins each defended their home courts in Friday's semifinal round to advance to the Centennial Conference men's basketball championship. Gettysburg will host Hopkins at 2 p.m. on Sunday with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. 

Sunday's matchup will mark the first ever title game clash between the Bullets and Blue Jays. Hopkins will make its eighth straight and 17th ooverall championship appearance while the Bullets advance to the championship for the first time since 2010 and sixth time overall. 

In Gettysburg, Pa,, top-seeded Gettysburg led wire-to-wire, including by double digits for all but 23 seconds after halftime, to defeat fourth-seeded Franklin & Marshall 69-45 in the semifinals. Reece Craft led the Bullets with 17 points while Josh Herr chipped in 16 points and six rebounds. Steve Donahue was the only Diplomat to reach double figures with 11 points.

In Baltimore, Md., Charlie Jackson scored a game-high 25 points to lead Johns Hopkins to an 83-71 win over Ursinus at Goldfarb Gym. The Blue Jays improve to 20-6 while the Bears end their season at 18-9. 
 
Five Blue Jays finished in double figures, led by Jackson with his game-high 25. He also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and three steals. Wyatt Eglinton Manner notched 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Tanti Felli added 12 points and five blocks, which tied the JHU record for blocks in a conference tournament game.
 
Mohamed Toure led the Bears with 22 points to go with eight rebounds, while Jamie Murphy just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Nick Nocito handed out seven assists and scored 14 points.

The Bullets and Blue Jays split results in the regular season series, with each team winning its home contest by two points. Hopkins beat Gettysburg 58-56 on January 10 and the Bullets returned the favor on February 4, winning 61-59. 

FIRST ROUND: Tuesday, Feb. 24 | at #3 & #4 seeds

#3 Ursinus d. #6 McDaniel, 81-62 | Box Score 

#4 Franklin & Marshall d. #5 Swarthmore, 80-59 | Box Score 

SEMIFINALS: Friday, Feb. 27 | at #1 & #2 seeds 

#2 Johns Hopkins d. #3 Ursinus, 83-71 | Box Score 

#1 Gettysburg d. #4 Franklin & Marshall, 69-45 | Box Score 

CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, March 1 | Gettysburg, Pa. 

#2 Johns Hopkins at #1 Gettysburg, 2 p.m. | BUY TICKETS