A fourth-quarter melee provided the turning point for Johns Hopkins, which defeated Ohio State 6-5 in a defensive slugfest Thursday to advance to the Big Ten championship game in Ann Arbor, Mich. Alex Concannon scored the game-winning goal off a twice-deflected feed that fortuitously found his stick with 11 seconds remaining.

Trailing 5-4 with less than 10 minutes remaining, the Blue Jays got a big man-down save from goalie Brock Turnbaugh, who fled up the field with the ball. As Turnbaugh approached midfield near the substitution box, Buckeyes attackman Colin Chell pushed him from behind for a penalty. Turnbaugh hit the turf, and then tempers flared. Both benches cleared and two players — Ohio State’s Christian Feliziani and Johns Hopkins’ Daniel Jones — were ejected.

Tempers flare between @OhioState_MLAX and @jhumenslacrosse in the fourth quarter. Buckeyes lead 5-4 with under 9 minutes left. pic.twitter.com/4Wa8TScFRQ

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 4, 2018

This time, the Blue Jays went man-up and Buckeyes goalie Josh Kirson came up with the stop. But defensive midfielder Ryan Terefenko, serving the penalty for Chell, left the box early, an illegal procedure that gave Johns Hopkins another extra-man opportunity. Kyle Marr (three goals) converted, finishing off a Concannon feed to tie the game at 5 with 7:52 remaining.

The score stayed that way until the final minute. The Blue Jays drew a shot clock violation with 32 seconds left, but long-stick midfielder Robert Kuhn intercepted a clearing pass by Ohio State defenseman Erik Evans to give Johns Hopkins the last shot.

After a Blue Jays timeout, midfielder Joel Tinney tried to feed attackman Shack Stanwick on the crease. The pass was deflected in the air, then bounced off Marr’s stick and landed with Concannon about 10 yards out. Concannon grabbed the ball out of the air, cradled back and stuck a left-handed into the lower-right part of the goal to seal the game.

WHAT A SEQUENCE. After the ball pops in the air twice, Alex Concannon grabs it and fires home the game-winner to send @jhumenslacrosse to the @bigten final with a 6-5 win over @OhioState_MLAX pic.twitter.com/SYYjqIbRGQ

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 4, 2018

Ohio State won the ensuing faceoff and Jack Jasinski got off a long-range shot at the buzzer, but Turnbaugh corralled it for his 16th save to preserve the hard-fought win.

Johns Hopkins (10-4), the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will meet No. 1 seed and two-time defending conference champion Maryland in the Big Ten final Saturday. The longtime rivals met just last week in a triple-overtime thriller won by the Terps.

“Anytime you get the Hopkins-Maryland rivalry twice in a season, it’s pretty lucky for lacrosse fans,” Turnbaugh said after Thursday’s game on the Big Ten Network.

Ohio State, which came alive in the second half of the season and had won three straight to close out the Big Ten regular season, is on the bubble for the NCAA tournament a year after advancing to the championship game. The Buckeyes (8-7) lost despite significant advantages in shots (37-17), faceoffs (11-3) and ground balls (28-15).

YOUNGSTERS PROPEL TERPS PAST RUTGERS

Top-seeded Maryland advanced to its third consecutive Big Ten championship game with a 12-9 victory over fourth-seeded Rutgers in Ann Arbor, Mich. Sophomore Jared Bernhardt, redshirt freshman Logan Wisnauskas and freshman Bubba Fairman did the bulk of the damage, combining for 12 points. Senior goalie Dan Morris made 12 saves.

The Terps (12-2) trailed 5-4 in the second quarter, but an extra-man goal by Louis Dubick sparked a three-goal run to close out the first half. Maryland never trailed again.

The Scarlet Knights (9-6) likely will find themselves on the outside looking in cwhen NCAA tournament selections are announced Sunday.

BAPTISTE SETS NCAA RECORD FOR FACEOFF WINS

Denver and Georgetown, the top two seeds in the Big East tournament, both advanced Thursday with semifinal victories over Marquette and host Villanova, respectively. They’ll meet in the championship game Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

Faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste won his 1,118th career faceoff in the last minute of Denver’s 10-7 victory over Marquette, breaking the NCAA Division I record previously held by Bryant’s Kevin Massa. Baptiste finished 14-for-21 and attackman Austin French scored five goals in the win.

RECORD BROKEN @TrevorBaptiste1 wins faceoff No. 1,118, passing @Bryant_MLax’s Kevin Massa for first on the all-time list.@DU_MLAX downs @MarquetteMLax 10-7 to advance to the @BIGEASTchamps final. pic.twitter.com/3LhacPfdel

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 3, 2018

The Pioneers (12-2) led 8-4 with 14 minutes remaining before Marquette (6-8), which had knocked Denver out of the Big East tournament the last two season en route to the conference title, took advantage of two man-up situations to spark a 3-0 run and cut the Denver lead to 8-7 with 5:16 remaining.

But attackman Ethan Walker scored an insurance goal a little more than a minute later and French added an empty-netter for the final margin.

HOYAS HANDLE WILDCATS

Georgetown, meanwhile, is one substantial but not impossible upset away from its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007. The Hoyas (11-4), who combined for a 6-22 record the last two seasons before turning things around this spring, defeated Villanova 13-10.

The Wildcats (10-5) were without freshman faceoff specialist Dan Fisher, who was injured during practice this week. Down to its third option at the dot — Fisher had replaced injured senior Luke Palmadesso earlier in the season — Villanova managed to win just six of 25 faceoffs.

Georgetown took advantage of the possession imbalance, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter, absorbing a five-goal output by the Wildcats in the second quarter and building an 11-7 lead with 5:24 remaining.

Villanova rallied with three goals in less than a minute to pull within one, but Hoyas attackman Robert Clark responded off a feed from midfielder Lucas Wittenberg, catching it high, dropping his stick low and scoring the insurance goal with 1:41 remaining.

Senior midfielder Craig Berge led Georgetown with four goals. The Hoyas have been playing without top scorer Daniel Bucaro, the junior attackman who suffered a season-ending injury in mid-April.

“We’ve been unselfish,” Berge said in an interview with CBS Sports Network after the game Thursday. “None of us are trying to be Danny, but we’re trying to win for Danny.”

“We know the opportunity we have,” Berge added, noting Denver’s strengths all over the field. “We’re going to make the most of it.”

UMASS, TOWSON SET FOR CAA TITLE REMATCH

Top-seeded UMass and second-seeded Towson found tough sledding in the CAA semifinals Thursday, but both teams survived and advanced, setting up a rematch of last year’s conference title tilt Saturday.

UMass (11-4) won its 10th straight game and defeated Hofstra for the second time in as many weeks, but the Minutemen had to overcome a herculean effort by Pride goalie Jack Concannon, who made 22 saves in the losing cause. UMass outshot Hofstra 46-26, its persistence paying off during a 6-1 run spanning 23 minutes, 32 seconds from the end of the first quarter until midway through the third. Dylan Alderman (three goals) singlehandedly brought the Pride back with two unanswered unassisted goals that cut the UMass lead to 8-6 with 4:15 remaining, but that’s the closest Hofstra (6-8) would get.

Towson (7-7) appeared headed toward a comfortable semifinal victory before Delaware exploded for four goals in less than six minutes to send the game to overtime. Tigers long-stick midfielder Koby Smith caused a turnover with a timely over-the-head check in the extra frame and midfielder Matt Sovero scored the game-winning goal for the 9-8 victory.

.@Towson_MLAX survives in OT! Matt Sovero fires home the game-winner to send the Tigers back to the @CAASports title game to meet @UMassMLacrosse. pic.twitter.com/fYRunrzSfR

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 4, 2018

MAAC MADNESS

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opened conference tournament week with a pair of thrillers Thursday, as Canisius rallied to upset top-seeded Quinnipiac 11-10 in overtime and Detroit Mercy exploded for seven goals in the final nine minutes to stun Monmouth 12-9.

The Griffins advanced thanks to Carter Stefaniak’s game-tying goal with 12 seconds remaining in regulation and then Ryan McKee’s game-winner at the 2:59 mark of overtime.

The Titans broke open a defensive affair, erasing a four-goal deficit with their game-ending seven-goal run.

ALBANY SURVIVES A SCARE

Nothing comes easily for Albany anymore.

The Great Danes, the top seed and host of the America East tournament, trailed UMass Lowell 7-5 at halftime and needed a game-ending four-goal run to pull away for a 15-10 semifinal win Thursday. TD Ierlan won 28 of 29 faceoffs for the Great Danes, who will play Vermont, an 8-4 winner over Stony Brook, in the conference championship game Saturday.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

ACC
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.

Semifinals
(3) Notre Dame 14, (2) Duke 11
(4) Virginia 11, (1) Syracuse 10

Championship Game
(3) Notre Dame 17, (4) Virginia 7

AMERICA EAST
ALBANY, N.Y.

Semifinals
(3) Vermont 8, (2) Stony Brook 4
(1) Albany 15, (4) UMass Lowell 10

Championship Game
Saturday, May 5
(3) Vermont vs. (1) Albany
12 p.m. (ESPNU)

BIG EAST
VILLANOVA, PA.

Semifinals
(1) Denver 10, (4) Marquette 7
(2) Georgetown 13, (3) Villanova 10

Championship Game
(2) Georgetown vs. (1) Denver
Saturday, May 5
2 p.m. (CBSSN)

BIG TEN
ANN ARBOR, MICH.

Semifinals
(1) Maryland 12, (4) Rutgers 9
(2) Johns Hopkins 6, (3) Ohio State 5

Championship Game
Saturday, May 5
(2) Johns Hopkins vs. (1) Maryland
7 p.m. (BTN)

CAA
AMHERST, MASS.

Semifinals
(1) UMass 10, (4) Hofstra 6
(2) Towson 9, (3) Delaware 8 (OT)

Championship Game
Saturday, May 5
(2) Towson vs. (1) UMass
1 p.m. (LSN)

IVY LEAGUE
NEW YORK, N.Y.

Semifinals
Friday, May 4

(4) Penn vs. (1) Yale
6 p.m. (ESPNU)

(3) Brown vs. (2) Cornell
8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Championship Game
Sunday, May 6
12 p.m. (ESPNU)

MAAC
LONG BRANCH, N.J.

Semifinals
(4) Canisius 11, (1) Quinnipiac 10 (OT)
(2) Detroit Mercy 12, (3) Monmouth 9

Championship Game
(4) Canisius vs. (3) Monmouth
Saturday, May 5
10 a.m. (ESPNU)

NEC
PHILADELPHIA

Semifinals
(1) Saint Joseph’s 11, (4) Sacred Heart 9
(3) Robert Morris 12, (2) Bryant 5

Championship Game
(3) Robert Morris vs. (1) Saint Joseph’s
Saturday, May 5
(NEC Front Row)

PATRIOT LEAGUE
BALTIMORE

Quarterfinals
(4) Lehigh 11, (5) Colgate 6
(6) Boston University 12, (3) Bucknell 11

Semifinals
(1) Loyola 13, (6) Boston University 8
(4) Lehigh 10, (2) Navy 9 (OT)

Championship Game
(1) Loyola 15, (4) Lehigh 8

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
RICHMOND, VA.

Semifinals
(1) Richmond 16, (4) Furman 8
(3) Jacksonville 12, (2) High Point 11 (OT)
8 p.m. (SDN)

Championship Game
(3) Jacksonville vs. (1) Richmond
Saturday, May 5
2 p.m. (SDN)