Jan. 18, 2003

Box Score

Stevenson, MD - Blue Jay senior center Mike Blaine (Washington, DC/Bishop Ireton) led all Johns Hopkins scorers with a career-high 18 points as JHU pulled away to defeat Villa Julie, 80-62, Saturday afternoon in the VJC Student Union Center.

Blaine, who connected on 9-of-12 shots from the field, pulled down a team-best six rebounds and dished out four assists as 25th-ranked Hopkins won its fourth straight game to improve to 11-3. JHU senior guard Brendan Kamm (Avon, NJ/Somerville) scored 13 points, senior forward Jay Kreider (Sykesville, MD/River Hill) added 12, and senior forward Steve Adams (Butler, PA/Butler) chipped in 11.

Anthony Fitzgerald posted game-highs of 22 points and 13 rebound to lead the Mustangs, who fell to 2-15 on the season.

Hopkins jumped out to an early 11-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game, but Villa Julie would battle back and eventually take a 19-16 lead at the 9:26 mark on a three-pointer by Zach Moye. However, Blaine and freshman forward Frank Mason (Silver Spring, MD/Barrie School) answered with consecutive lay-ups, and the Blue Jays would not trail again.

JHU had its largest lead of the half at 29-21 after a three-pointer by Kreider, and took a 36-31 lead into the break.

Adams, who sat out the last 14 minutes of the first half due to foul trouble, scored the first two baskets of the second half to give the Blue Jays a nine-point lead. The Mustangs would not go away, cutting the JHU lead to four at 49-45 with 11:39 to play.

But Kamm hit two free throws and a three-pointer on back-to-back trips, and Mason added a lay-up to put Hopkins up 11 at the 9:50 mark, and Villa Julie could get no closer than eight the rest of the way. JHU junior guard Matt Righter (Clarion, PA/Lawrenceville Prep) scored all nine of his points in the second half, including seven in a row late to put the Blue Jays ahead by 18.

Hopkins, which shot 51.6 percent from the field, held a 43-34 rebounding advantage and a 36-20 edge in points in the paint. The Blue Jays also assisted on 22 of their 32 baskets in the game.

JHU, which will face Centennial Conference opponents in each of its last 10 regular season games, hosts Dickinson Wednesday at 8 p.m.

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