BALTIMORE, Md. – A close battle in the first half turned into the favor of the Blue Jays in the final 20 minutes, as the Marymount men's basketball team dropped a 82-60 decision on the road to Johns Hopkins to open the 2017-18 campaign. 

The Saints fell behind early, seeing the Jays take a 7-0 lead before sophomore center Ryan Albert silenced the run with a layup six minutes in. Following a jumper by junior guard Brandon Rogers a minute later, Albert went back-to-back from beyond the arc for six more points to get the Saints within two, 12-10, with 11:37 remaining in the half. 

The defense continued to hold strong, keeping the Jays off the board for over a five-minute span including blocked shots by senior Dimitri Rucker and sophomore Ibrahim Kamara, while sophomore guards Taiga Walker and Josh Giardina knocked in a jumper and a three pointer, in that order, to give the Saints their largest lead of the game, 15-12. 

A half that saw four lead changes, the final exchange went in favor of the Jays right before the break, as they took a 31-27 advantage into the locker rooms. 

Johns Hopkins pulled away in the second half, shooting 57.7 percent from the floor, including 7-for-11 from beyond the arc. 

Kamara and Rogers paced the offense with 13 and 10 points, respectively, while Albert and Rucker chipped in nine and eight. Rogers added a team-high seven rebounds and team-high two blocks. 

Freshmen Nick Ball and Steve Etienne made their collegiate debuts, as Ball collected two rebounds, a steal, an assist, and a block and Etienna registered five points, two rebounds, two steals, and an assist. 

The men head back to Arlington for their home opener this weekend, hosting the fifth-annual Pablo Coto Tip-Off Tournament in the Verizon Sports Arena. Day one is set for Saturday, November 18, as the Saints take on SUNY Geneseo at 1 p.m.