Jan. 17, 2007

Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. - 25th ranked Johns Hopkins survived a nail-biter in the Mayser Center as the Blue Jays staved off Franklin & Marshall for a 69-66 win in Centennial Conference basketball action Wednesday night. It was the Blue Jays' first win in Lancaster since 1998.

Franklin & Marshall (6-10, 5-4 CC) was in catch-up mode for the final 35 minutes of the game. The contest appeared as if it was going to be a one-sided affair late in the first half with Hopkins (14-2, 8-1 CC) holding a 12-point lead. The Diplomats chipped the Jays' lead down to nine, 39-30, by the half, before cutting well into the lead early in the second half.

An early 8-2 F&M run got the Diplomats within a possession, only to watch Hopkins pull away. Franklin & Marshall was able to make it a one-possession game eight times in the second half, but never tied the score.

Three Diplomat three-pointers interrupted only by a Matt Griffin free throw made it a 65-64 game in favor of Hopkins with 2:06 left in the game. F&M appeared poised to take the lead when Brandon Yost rejected a Danny Nawrocki jump-shot and then drew a foul from Nawrocki at the other end. Yost, however, missed both of his free throws, only to watch Griffin hit a pair at the other end on the next trip to make it 67-64.

Derek Hines answered with the last two of his game-high 24 points with 34 ticks to once again make it a one-point contest. His fourth foul sent Pat O'Connell to the line with 16 seconds left in the game. O'Connnell clicked on the front end, but missed the second, which fell into the hands of Yost. The Diplomats then called timeout with 5.6 seconds remaining to play, still trailing 68-66.

Once play resumed, Leonard drove the lane and tried to get off a leaner. His effort drew a foul from Kevin Roach, giving F&M a chance to tie the game. Leonard hit the front of the rim with his first shot, then attempted to throw his second off of the glass. Roach reigned in that carom, and was immediately fouled by Hines. He hit his first free throw to make it the final 69-66 tally. Leonard grabbed the rebound from Roach's second shot and called timeout with 1.6 seconds. A last-second desperation play did not yield the Diplomats' desired result.

Griffin racked up 20 points for Hopkins, while Nawrocki pulled down a game-high of 15 rebounds for Johns Hopkins. T.J. Valerio finished with 12 points and six boards for the Jays.

Hines did the bulk of the work offensively as Franklin & Marshall's starters accounted for 62 of the Diplomats 66 points. He was credited with five rebounds and a pair of blocks. Four of the Diplomats five starters scored in double figures. Logan Outerbridge had 12 points and five boards while Leonard and Yost contributed 11 and 10 points respectively. Yost was the Diplomats leading rebounder with six boards. He also blocked three shots.

With the loss, Franklin & Marshall drops to 6-10 (5-4 CC), while Hopkins improves to 14-2 (8-1 CC). The Diplomats return to action on Saturday at Haverford.