|
MEN'S BASKETBALL
F&M handles Hopkins F&M 73, Johns Hopkins 54 Sets up showdown with Dickinson for home-court edge in CC playoffs F&M handles Hopkins F&M 73, Johns Hopkins 54 BY JOEL SCHREINER, Sports Correspondent
The Diplomats already have an RSVP for the Centennial Conference playoffs.
But, they are hungry for more.
They entered Wednesday night knowing home-court advantage in the postseason was within reach, needing wins over Johns Hopkins and Dickinson this week to close out the regular season.
One down, one to go.
Behind a red-hot shooting touch in the first half and a game-high 24 points from Hayk Gyokchyan, F&M grounded the Blue Jays, 73-54, at Mayser Center.
"I thought we played extremely well tonight," said Diplomat coach Glenn Robinson. "It was a really good team effort."
The win keeps the Diplomats (13-4 CC, 18-6 overall) in a first-place tie with Dickinson (13-4, 18-6), which beat Gettysburg, 61-58 Wednesday night.
That tie will be broken Saturday afternoon when F&M hosts the Devils with home-court advantage on the line.
The Diplomats this season are 13-0 on the home hardwood.
"Our record says it all," said Gyokchyan. "We've lost six games on the road and we're undefeated at home. We're trying to keep it that way."
A 3-pointer by Max Brewer gave the Diplomats the lead for good (10-8) with 14:29 left in the first half.
F&M eventually led 26-14, but the Blue Jays (11-6, 15-9) cut it to 30-21 with 2:22 left in the half. An 8-0 run by the Diplomats, including back-to-back triples from Gyokchyan, helped send them to the half with a 38-23 cushion.
"It was very important because they had cut it to nine and we were able to take it up to 15," said Robinson. "If that goes the other way, it could have been four or five points and then you have a war on your hands."
F&M hit 16 of 25 shots in the first half, including a 7-for-10 clip by Gyokchyan, who had 16 points.
Jon Salandra and Matt Porter fueled a 13-6 F&M charge to start the second half, giving the Diplomats their largest lead, 51-29 with 14:26 left.
Salandra and Porter combined for 10 of the 13 points. Porter finished with 14, while Salandra dropped a dozen.
The F&M defense, meanwhile, was busy holding the Hopkins offense 10 points below its season average.
"Our defense was really good," said Robinson. "That's a good offensive team and until the last three or four minutes, they really didn't get many good shots."
The Jays still had only 38 points with 9:18 left in the game and could only get within 15 down the stretch.
"We knew this week was the biggest week of the conference so far," said Gyokchyan. "We came out from the get-go and played great."
JOHNS HOPKINS (15-9, 11-6 CC)
Bugarinovic 5-6 2-4 12, Spengler 4-5 2-2 10, Hammer 3-9 1-2 9, Chambers 3-6 1-2 7, Pandrangi 2-3 1-1 5, Chiusano 2-4 0-0 4, Vasiliadis 1-3 1-2 3, Corbett 0-1 2-2 2, McIntyre 1-5 0-0 2, Billups 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Randall 0-0 0-0 0, Rhoads 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 10-15 54.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (18-6, 13-4)
Gyokchyan 10-16 0-0 24, Porter 6-7 2-3 14, Salandra 4-8 4-4 12, Brewer 3-4 0-0 9, Lee 2-6 2-4 6, Beckford 2-5 0-0 4, Moune 2-3 0-0 4, Hines 0-0 0-0 0, Figueroa 0-1 0-0 0, Faison 0-0 0-0 0, Phelps 0-0 0-0 0, Rogo 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-52 8-11 73.
Halftime -- F&M 38-23. 3-Point Goals -- JH 2-8 (Hammer 2-3, Vasiliadis 0-1, Corbett 0-1, Williams 0-2, Rhoads 0-1), F&M 7-15 (Gyokchyan 4-8, Brewer 3-4, Lee 0-1, Beckford 0-1, Porter 0-1). Fouled Out -- None. Rebounds -- JH 21 (McIntyre 3, Chambers 3), F&M 31 (Beckford 7). Assists -- JH 12 (McIntyre 4), F&M 14 (Beckford 5). Total Fouls -- JH 12, F&M 12. A -- 1,007.
|
