BALTIMORE, Md. - In the backend of the season series, the Franklin & Marshall Men's Basketball team fell to No. 20 Johns Hopkins 73-58.
With the Diplomats failing to register a field goal for nearly three minutes to begin the game, the Blue Jays got out to a 7-1 lead. A
Kevin Nowoswiat layup then led to a 6-2 run and cut the Johns Hopkins advantage to two. For the next seven minutes, the two teams combined to shoot 4-of-18 from the field as the Blue Jays held a 14-12 edge. However, a 9-3 Johns Hopkins run gave the home side an eight-point lead with less than six minutes until the break. With just over two minutes remaining until halftime and the Blue Jays ahead 28-23, Johns Hopkins ended the frame on an 8-0 run to take a 13-point advantage into the locker room.
The Blue Jays continued their momentum into the second half, as they opened the first three minutes on an 8-1 run to increase the gap to 20. F&M responded immediately after with back-to-back three-pointers and eventually trimmed the deficit to 13 with 15 minutes left to go. For the next five minutes, however, the Diplomats made just one shot from the floor as Johns Hopkins built its lead back up to 57-39. With the Blue Jays in front 64-47 less than four minutes later,
Vakaris Grauslys exploded for a 9-0 run of his own and brought F&M to within eight with under five minutes remaining. However, Johns Hopkins closed out the game on a 9-4 as the Diplomats' comeback attempt fell short.
Grauslys led the team in scoring on the night with 17 points, including 12 in the second half. Off the bench,
Jaylen Green provided 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. As a team, F&M shot 10-of-23 from beyond the arc.
Staying on the road, the Diplomats will now travel to Swarthmore on Saturday, February 10 at 3 p.m.