COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus Men's Basketball team has advanced to the Semifinal round of the Centennial Conference Tournament berth for the second straight season and will travel to face the second-seeded Johns Hopkins at 6:00 p.m.
 
   
Ticket Information
 
The Centennial Conference has announced that Hudl will serve as the ticket provider for CC championship events. Hudl will give event attendees the ability to purchase tickets online for each round of the Centennial postseason. Centennial fans will be able to find all scheduled postseason events on the Centennial ticketing homepage and quickly purchase tickets to receive via email. Fans will then use their smartphone to gain access at championship events through a simple and secure ticket validation process.  Below are the ticket prices for each round of the postseason:
 
Adults - $11
Students (Age 6 through High School) - $6
Senior Citizens - $6
College Students, Faculty & Staff of Centennial Schools - FREE
Children 5 and Under – FREE
 
 
The Field
 
FIRST ROUND: Tuesday, Feb. 24 | at #3 & #4 seeds
#3 Ursinus def. #6 McDaniel, 81-62
#4 Franklin & Marshall def. #5 Swarthmore, 80-59
 
SEMIFINALS: Friday, Feb. 28| at #1 & #2 seeds
# 3 Ursinus at #2 Johns Hopkins, 6:00 p.m.
#4 Franklin & Marshall at #1 Gettysburg, 6:00 p.m.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, Mar. 1 | at highest remaining seed
Semifinal winners, time TBA
 
 
Records
Ursinus holds a 17-9 overall record and a finished the regular season with a 9-4 mark in Centennial play. The Bears finished third in the Centennial regular season standings. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays finished the regular season with an overall record of 19-6 and a 10-3 mark in Centennial play. Johns Hopkins finished second in the Centennial Conference regular season standings
 
 
Scouting the Bears
 
The Ursinus Men's Basketball team used a big first half to power past McDaniel 81-62 in the First Round of the Centennial Conference Tournament on Tuesday evening at Helfferich Hall. Senior Mohamed Toure carried his dominant February stretch into the postseason by recording a game-high 24 points while totaling four rebounds, and three blocks. Toure now has scored at least 21 points in six of his last seven contests. Senior Nick Nocito picked up right where he left off on Saturday by adding 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 3-of-5 from deep. He recorded seven assists, five rebounds, and one steal. Sophomore Jamie Murphy recorded 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting along with five rebounds, four assists, and three steals while first-year Tomas Belaiter impressed in his postseason debut with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting and totaled four rebounds plus three assists off the bench. The Bears hold the highest scoring offense in the Centennial Conference at 82.5 points per game and have the highest overall team field goal percentage at 48.1 percent. Ursinus has two of its players in the top five in scoring for the Centennial Conference in Toure and Murphy. Toure holds a slight edge now for the team lead in scoring at 17.2 points per game and is third in the Centennial Conference. He led all Centennial Conference scorers in conference games this season at 20.6 points per game. Murphy has had a breakout season by sitting just behind Toure at 16.5 points per game and ranks fifth overall in the Centennial Conference. The duo also sits first and third, respectively, in the Centennial in field goal percentage with Murphy leading at 54.5 percent and Toure at 49.7 percent. Senior Nick Nocito ranks third on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game and yards the Conference at 5.5 assists per game.
 
 
Bears in the Playoffs
Ursinus is making its 19th all-time appearance in the Centennial Conference tournament, and for the fifth straight season. The Bears have qualified for the tournament in eight of the last nine seasons and have won four Centennial Conference Championships with the most recent coming in 2008. The Bears have made the semifinal round in three of the last five seasons.
 
 
Scouting the Blue Jays
 
Johns Hopkins sits behind only the Bears in scoring offense at 75.6 points per game and is fifth in scoring defense at 65.2. They are third for team field goal percentage at 44.7% and have the best turnover margin plus assist/turnover ratio. Senior Charlie Jackson is the overall leading scorer in the Centennial at 19.0 points per game and sophomore Wyatt Eglinton Manner is second on the team and ninth in the Centennial at 13.1 points per game. Jackson also ranks fourth in the Centennial with 7.1 rebounds per game and is second to Toure in field goal percentage at 51.3%.
 
 
Blue Jays in the Playoffs
 
Johns Hopkins will be making its 23^rd overall Centennial Conference Tournament appearance in program history and eighth straight since 2017. The Blue Jays have advanced to the Centennial Conference Tournament finals in seven straight seasons and have won six Centennial Conference Championships with the most recent coming in 2018.
 
Series History
 
Johns Hopkins holds the all-time series advantage over the Bears at 64-48 and have won 20 of the last 23 meetings. This will be the sixth all-time postseason between both schools with each team winning three of the games. The Blue Jays won the most recent postseason meeting in 2021-22 81-75 in the Semifinal round.
 
 
Last Meeting
 
The Blue Jays won a hard-fought 84-78 contest over the Bears in Helfferich Hall in the lone meeting of the season on February 7th. Ursinus went toe-to-toe with the Blue Jays throughout the first half before a late run gave Johns Hopkins a 40-34 lead at halftime. The Bears rallied back from a 10-point deficit early in the second half to take the lead back with just over 12 minutes left in regulation. The teams traded blows for the remainder of the game before timely scoring and perfect free throw shooting down the stretch sealed the win for the Blue Jays. Ursinus won the last meeting in Baltimore during the 2024-25 season, 89-79.
 
 
Ursinus Head Coach: Kevin Small
The all-time winningest coach in Ursinus Men's Basketball history, Kevin Small is in his 27th season as the head coach of the Bears and 30th overall season at Ursinus. Small has amassed a 363-293 record during his time in Collegeville. Small has led the Bears to 18 Centennial Tournament appearances, four Centennial Conference Championships (2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008), and the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2008.
 
 
Johns Hopkins Head Coach: Ryan Cain
Ryan Cain became the Johns Hopkins' men's basketball head coach in June 2023. Cain led Johns Hopkins to a 20-7 record, including a 15-3 mark in the Centennial Conference, and a sixth-straight trip to the CC Championship game in his first season with the Blue Jays. He coached the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, as well as three all-conference selections. Cain guided the Owls to a record of 146-66 (.689) during his eight-year tenure with five, 20-win seasons and five trips to the NCAA Tournament.  Under Cain's guidance, Keene State advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2017, the Sweet 16 in 2016 and 2023 and the second round of the tournament in 2022.
 
Up Next
The winner will advance to the Centennial Conference Championship Game on Sunday, March 1^st.  The highest remaining seed will host the game at a time to be determined.