Box Score Hampden Sydney, Va.— Jerome Alexander shot the eyes out of the ball, netting 42 points on 14-for-21 shooting (4-for-5 from three point range) to lead four players in double figures  as the John Jay men's basketball team defeated Frostburg State 89-86 in the opening round of the Bojangles Christmas Classic at Hampden Sydney University.
 
With the win, the Bloodhounds advance to the championship game to play the hosts Hampden Sydney on Friday evening at 7 p.m.  Hampden Sydney defeated Pitt-Greensburg 114-62 in the opening round of the other game. Frostburg State and Pitt-Greensburg will meet at 5 p.m. on Friday in the consolation game.
 
While Alexander's 42 points led the way, John Jay also got solid scoring performances from Swindon Charles who had 15 points and 11 rebounds, Jamar Harry with 15 points and nine rebounds and Isaiah Holman with 12 points. Frostburg State was led by Kwambina Coker and Troy Dockett with 19 points each.
 
The Bloodhounds held a 19-13 advantage on points off turnovers and had a season low eight turnovers committed in the contest.
 
In the early stages of the contest it was all Frostburg State. The Bobcats led most of the way in the first half and developed a 10-point lead midway through as Frostburg State was up 26-16. The Bobcats led by as much as 13 in the opening stanza and held a 44-31 lead with 1:22 to play before going into halftime ahead 47-35.
 
But the Bloodhounds came alive in the second half outscoring Frostburg State25-8 over the first seven minutes to grab a 56-52 lead.
 
John Jay maintained the lead through most of the remainder of the game. Up 64-63, John Jay used a 7-0 run to move ahead by eight and the Bloodhounds were up 71-63 with 8:18 to play.
 
But the game was far from over as Frostburg State scored the next nine points to retake the lead and was up 72-71 with just under six minutes remaining.
 
John Jay however countered that by outscoring the Bobcats 14-6 over the next five minutes to take an 85-78 with just over a minute to go.
 
The game came down to the final seconds. Up 87-83 with under thirty seconds remaining, the Bloodhounds missed a pair of free throws that would have put them up a half dozen. The Bobcats capitalized as Coker knocked down a three point field goal with fifteen seconds left that got the lead to within one.
 
Alexander was fouled with ten seconds left and knocked down both free throws to put John Jay up 89-86.
 
In the final seconds, the Bobcats failed to get a shot off as the Bloodhounds picked up the win to improve to 7-4 on the season. 

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