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Johns Hopkins Upsets 16th-ranked Franklin & Marshall, 74-69

Box Score Feb. 13, 2016

Box Score | Photo Gallery

Senior Matt Billups earned MVP honors for the Wall-O'Mahony game.


BALTIMORE, MD -- Four players scored in double figures to lead the Johns Hopkins men's basketball team to a 74-69 upset win over visiting 16th-ranked Franklin & Marshall Saturday afternoon in the 15th annual Wall-O'Mahony game. Senior Matt Billups was named the Blue Jays' (11-11, 8-7 CC) MVP while Cedric Moune earned the honor for the Diplomats (18-4, 13-2 CC). The game is played every year in honor of Glen Wall '84 and Matt O'Mahony '84, who lost their lives in the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2011.

Trailing 61-52 with 8:31 to play in the game, a Billups jumper kick-started an 11-1 run by the Blue Jays to take the lead. Arguably the key play of the run came off a missed free throw, sophomore Jesse Flannery collected the rebound and found senior Gene Williams open on the wing for a three-pointer. Junior Ryan Curran capped the run with a bucket in the paint to put Hopkins up 63-62 with 4:54 on the clock. The lead didn't last long as a pair of Matt Tate free throws sparked a quick 6-0 run for the Diplomats as they went up 68-63 at the 2:10-mark.

The Blue Jays weren't going away however, pulling within two on a three from the top of the key by Curran and then tying it on a Curran layup. Following an F&M miss on the other end, senior Sam Gordon hit two off the glass and the Blue Jays led 70-68 with 32 ticks on the clock. The Dips couldn't convert on their possession and then fouled Flannery, sending him to the line where made both shots. Brandon Federici drew a fou with five seconds to play, but he made one of his two shots, making it a 72-69 game. The Dips once again fouled, sending Gordon to the line and he hit both shots to secure the win.

The teams traded buckets over the opening three minutes and Hopkins led 6-5 on a Billups jumper. But a Federici three, one of his four in the first half, put Franklin & Marshall top and ignited a 14-2 run. Hunter Eggers punctuated the run with a bucket from downtown, staking the Dips to a 19-8 lead with 13:42 to go in the half. Hopkins answered with a 13-3 run of its own to pull within one on a Nikhil Panu three just three minutes later. The teams went back-and-forth over the next five minutes and F&M led 30-29.

Williams then hit back-to-back buckets, including a three-pointer, followed by a Curran layup and a Gordon free throw that put Hopkins up 37-30 at the 3:01-mark. Federici ended a nearly four-minute scoring drought with a pair of free throws. That sparked a 9-1 Franklin & Marshall run that saw the visitors take a 39-38 lead into the lockerroom.

Coming out of the half Curran hit a layup to swing the lead in Hopkins' favor, but Tate answered with a triple on the other end. Billups tied the game with a dunk but an Eggers pull-up jumper put the Dips back on top, 44-42, with 17:13 to go. Williams grabbed the lead back for the Blue Jays with another three, but a conventional three-point play by Moune put the Dips ahead. That started an 11-2 run that gave F&M a 10-point lead with 10:57 still to play. Hopkins trimmed the deficit to five, but Franklin & Marshall came right back to push its lead back to nine. As it turned out, the Blue Jays had one more run left in them.

Billups finished with 12 points, three steals, six rebounds and a game-high six blocks. The six swats are one shy of his career high and the school record. That also gives him 118 for his career, moving him into fourth place in school history. Curran posted his third double-double with 19 points and 13 boards, while also collecting three blocks and two assists. Williams punched up 14 points, going 3-of-4 from downtown, while Gordon chipped in 12 points. Federici led the Dips with 19 points, 16 of those coming in the first half. Moune scored 17 points, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, and blocked a pair of shots. Eggers (16 points) and Tate (12) also finished in double figures.

Hopkins returns to action on Monday to take on Haverford in a game rescheduled from January 23. Tip-off at Goldfarb Gym is slated for 8:00 pm.

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Players Mentioned

Jesse Flannery

#1 Jesse Flannery

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Ryan Curran

#2 Ryan Curran

F
6' 7"
Sophomore
Nikhil Panu

#32 Nikhil Panu

G
6' 4"
Sophomore
Sam Gordon

#51 Sam Gordon

G/F
6' 7"
Junior
Gene Williams

#33 Gene Williams

G/F
6' 4"
Freshman
Matt Billups

#41 Matt Billups

F
6' 9"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Jesse Flannery

#1 Jesse Flannery

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Ryan Curran

#2 Ryan Curran

6' 7"
Sophomore
F
Nikhil Panu

#32 Nikhil Panu

6' 4"
Sophomore
G
Sam Gordon

#51 Sam Gordon

6' 7"
Junior
G/F
Gene Williams

#33 Gene Williams

6' 4"
Freshman
G/F
Matt Billups

#41 Matt Billups

6' 9"
Freshman
F