Feb. 17, 2007

Box Score

BALTIMORE - Playing their final regular season home game, #24 Johns Hopkins' senior class accounted for 64 points as the Blue Jays handed Franklin & Marshall an 84-68 Centennial Conference loss on Saturday. Matt Griffin led the charge with 30 points having hit 10-of-12 shots from the field, and all ten of his shots at the line. The Diplomats close their season at 8-17, (7-11 CC). Hopkins improved to 21-4 (15-3 CC).

A 17-0 Johns Hopkins run sparked by Griffin early in the game gave the Jays a 19-5 lead approaching the mid-point of the first half. It ultimately proved insurmountable. Hopkins stretched the lead to 17 points with just under seven minutes to play. The Diplomats began to battle back at that point going on a 13-5 run to cut Hopkins' lead down to a single digits, 35-27, with two minutes left in the half. Hopkins went into the break still holding eight, 39-31. Griffin accounted for 18 of those points.

The Jays stretched the lead back to 16 points early in the second period, but Adam Leonard's hot hand knifed into the Blue Jay advantage. Leonard started and finished a 16-2 Diplomat run, scoring nine of his team's points in the stretch to make it a one-possession game, 49-47 with 12:07 left to play. Leonard finished the game with 19 points and six boards.

Eight seconds later, the Diplomats were hit with a foul followed by a technical foul that gave the Jays' four shots at the line. Hopkins connected on three of them to gain a five-point lead. A Derek Hines lay-up cut it back to three points, 52-49 with 11:38 left in the game. F&M never got closer than that.

Hopkins outscored Franklin & Marshall 21-15 in the final seven minutes, including 13-points on 14 trips to the line.

Since 2002, the Hopkins men's basketball team has honored the memories of former Blue Jays Glen Wall and Matt O'Mahony on senior day. The duo, teammates and best friends on the Hopkins men's basketball team, were killed in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. An MVP is named from each team following the conclusion of the game. Griffin earned MVP honors for the Blue Jays. Logan Outerbridge led the Diplomats with 22 points and was named the F&M MVP.

In addition to Griffin's 30, senior Danny Nawrocki scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Classmate, T.J. Valerio, also scored in double-figures with 11 points.