Jan. 27, 2011

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BALTIMORE, MD - Four players scored in double figures for Franklin & Marshall as the visiting Diplomats beat Johns Hopkins, 86-55, Thursday in Centennial Conference action. The Blue Jays drop to 4-14 overall and 2-9 in the conference, while the Diplomats improve to 14-4 and 9-2.

It was a tale of two halves as the first 20 minutes saw two ties and six lead changes, but the second half was all Franklin & Marshall. Hopkins led four times in the game's opening six minutes, with the last lead coming at 11:36 as freshman Aleksandar Nikolic put back a missed Peter Scanlon three-pointer. Mike Baker answered with a bucket off the glass just 16 seconds later to give the lead back to the Diplomats.

Baker's bucket ignited a quick 15-2 run that saw F&M push out to a 26-14 lead in just a three-minute span. Back-to-back layups from senior John Alberici got things going for the Blue Jays as they answered with a 9-4 run that trimmed the deficit down to seven, capped by a pair of John Mysliwiec free throws. Beckford sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around a bucket from freshman Connor McIntyre and the Diplomats led 36-25 with 2:24 to play in the half. Freshman Jaraad Rogers drained a pull-up jumper to cut the Dips' lead back to nine, but Baker answered with a bucket in the paint and F&M took a 38-27 lead into the lockerroom.

Coming out of the half, Franklin & Marshall methodically pushed its lead out to 23 points over the first seven minutes. Baker and Hayk Gyokchyan fueled the run with six points apiece. A free throw from sophomore Sean Wildes and an old-fashioned three-point play by Alberici cut the deficit to 19 at 57-38. Franklin & Marshall responded with a 15-4 run to storm out to a 30-point advantage with 7:09 to play. Hopkins could get no closer than 26 for the remainder of the game.

Alberici led the Blue Jays with 15 points, going 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Nikolic was the only other Blue Jay in double figures, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks. The freshman now has 18 blocks on the season, the fourth most by a freshman in school history. Baker led four Diplomats in double figures with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Georgio Milligan racked up 16 points and five steals, while Gyokchyan had 14 and Beckford chipped in 10.

Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, January 29 as the Blue Jays travel to Allentown, PA to take on host Muhlenberg. The Centennial Conference match-up is set to tip at 4:00 pm.