Feb. 24, 2004

Box Score

Baltimore, MD - Franklin & Marshall forward Steve Juskin scored 21 points while Duran Searles added 13 as the 11th-ranked Diplomats defeated Johns Hopkins, 67-63, in Centennial Conference men's basketball action Tuesday night at Goldfarb Gymnasium.

Hopkins, which had its school-record 25 game home winning streak snapped, fell to 16-8 overall and 12-6 in league play. The Blue Jays will be the third seed in this weekend's conference tournament at Franklin & Marshall, and will face second seed Ursinus Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the Mayser Center. The Diplomats improved to 22-3 overall and 17-1 in the conference, and will host fourth seed Gettysburg Saturday at 4 p.m. in the second semifinal.

Franklin & Marshall led 34-33 at the half after a tight opening period, and had a 48-45 advantage at the 14:06 mark when Juskin hit a three-pointer. However Hopkins responded with a 10-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 55-48 with 11:23 to play. Junior forward Eric Toback (Ellicott City, MD/Mount Hebron), who finished with a team-high 19 points, nailed a three-pointer to tie the game, and senior guard Kevin Marquez (Oakton, VA/Oakton) followed with a three-pointer to give Hopkins the lead. Toback then hit a bucket and found freshman forward Matt Griffin (Glen Mills, PA/Penncrest) for a lay-up with 11:23 remaining.

The Diplomats answered with a 10-0 run over their own, going up 58-55 with 6:43 to play when Jackiem Wright hit a three-pointer. JHU sophomore guard Frank Mason (Silver Spring, MD/Barrie School) hit two free throws to bring the Blue Jays within one, but Bryan Teschke nailed one foul shot and Juskin drained two to put Franklin & Marshall up 61-57 at the 4:50 mark.

Hopkins freshman forward Danny Nawrocki (Syosset, NY/Chaminade) converted a lay-up to make it a 61-59 game with 4:24 remaining, and after Juskin nailed a free throw, Toback scored off an assist from freshman forward Zack Armen (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) to cut the Franklin & Marshall lead to 62-61 with 1:49 to go.

Juskin scored with a lay-up to put the Diplomats up 64-61 at the 1:34 mark, but Marquez answered inside to make it a 64-63 game with 57 seconds left. Armen blocked a shot by Juskin with 37 seconds left, but Wright stole a Hopkins pass, was fouled, and hit two free throws to put Franklin & Marshall ahead 66-63 with 22 seconds remaining. Marquez missed a three-pointer with six seconds to go, and Bobby Lynch nailed one free throw to put the game away.

Marquez finished with 16 points for the Blue Jays, while senior guard Matt Righter (Clarion, PA/Lawrenceville Prep) added 11 points and five assists. Lynch and Wright each scored 12 points for the Diplomats.

Box Score:                1   2       F#11 Franklin & Marshall (22-3, 17-1 Centennial)     34  33  -   67Johns Hopkins (16-8, 12-6 Centennial)           33  30  -   63