LANCASTER, PA – Host Franklin & Marshall opened the second half with an 18-2 run to take control of the game en route to a 66-56 win over Johns Hopkins in Centennial Conference action Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays drop to 15-8 on the season and 9-2 in the conference. The Diplomats improve to 17-6 overall and are tied with the Jays at 9-2.
Leading 23-21 to start the second, Josh Parra made a pair of free throws to spark that 18-2 run. Five players scored for the Diplomats, led by Kevin Nowoswiat with seven points, during the run. F&M went 6-of-7 from the field during the run, that spanned just over five minutes, and saw the home team take a 41-23 lead.
Hopkins answered with a 13-5 run to pull back within 10 with 7:01 on the clock.
Charlie Jackson fueled the run with seven points, while
Jeb Williams added five. The Blue Jays did part of the damage from the free throw line, making seven of eight shots, while forcing the Diplomats into 1-of-8 shooting during the nearly six-minute stretch.
The teams went back and forth over the ensuing four minutes and 45 minutes and Franklin & Marshall led 61-48 with 2:16 on the clock. The Diplomats pushed their lead to 18 just 33 seconds later by going 5-of-6 from charity stripe. The Blue Jays made one last push, scoring the final eight points of the game, to make it a 66-56 final.
After an opening layup from Parra, Hopkins went on a 6-3 spurt to take its first lead of the game at the 17:30-mark. Nowoswiat answered with a layup on the other end to grab the lead back for F&M, but a
Luke Thorburn tripled put JHU up 9-7. Dylan Cormac then hit a jumper to ignite a 12-5 Dips' run as they pushed out to a 19-14 lead with 7:18 to go in the half. The Blue Jays closed the half on a 7-4 spurt, fueled by four points from
Brian Johansson as the Diplomats took a 23-21 lead into the half.
Jackson and Johansson led Hopkins with 16 points each.
Wyatt Eglinton Manner handed out a career-high five assists, while
John Windley and
Tanti Felli tied for the team lead with four rebounds. Nowoswiat scored a game-high 22 points while Vakaris Grauslys finished with 10 points and seven assists. Sebastien Charles had a game-high 11 rebounds and John Seidman had 10 boards and seven points.
Hopkins returns to action on Wednesday, February 19 as the Blue Jays host the Swarthmore Garnet. The Centennial Conference contest is scheduled for an 8:00 pm tip at Goldfarb Gym.
