BALTIMORE, MD – Junior Jimmy Hammer poured in 21 points and four other Blue Jays finished in double figures to lead Johns Hopkins to an 81-70 win over visiting Muhlenberg in the 13th annual Wall-O'Mahony game. The Blue Jays improve to 10-7 overall and 7-3 in the Centennial Conference as they split the season series with the Mules, who fall to 1-6 and 6-4 in the CC.
The Wall-O'Mahony game is played annually in February in honor of Glen Wall and Matt O'Mahony, teammates on the Hopkins men's basketball team from 1982 to 1984. They were best friends and both lost their lives in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2011. At the conclusion of the game each year, an MVP is awarded to a player from each team.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Hammer and senior Daniel Corbett, sandwiched around a triple by Malique Killing, gave Hopkins a 13-point lead at the midway point in the second half. John Hunter cashed in on a Blue Jay turnover with a lay-up that ignited a quick 10-point Mules run as they trimmed the deficit to just three with 7:21 on the clock. Killing, who was named the MVP for Muhlenberg, capped the run with a lay-up and then a pair of free throws to make it a 61-58 game.
Junior Niko Kotoulas put a stop to the run with a three-pointer from the top of the key to kick-start a 13-4 run that saw JHU push out to a 74-62 lead. Kotoulas, senior Connor McIntyre and junior George Bugarinovic fueled the run and the Blue Jays led by 12 with just 2:46 to play. Muhlenberg wasn't going away however and a three-point play by Brandon LaRose and a Hunter lay-up quickly cut the deficit to seven.
That's as close as the visitors could get as Hammer answered with a three-pointer from the corner to push the lead back to 10. Sophomore Gene Williams followed with a pair of shots from the charity stripe and after a Muhlenberg turnover, Bugarinovic put one in off the glass for a 14-point lead. Killing, who finished with a game-high 33 points, had the final say with an old-fashioned three-point play with 11 seconds to go to account for the 81-70 final.
Though Hopkins never trailed, it wasn't a run-away game for the home team as each run by the Blue Jays was answered with one from the Mules. Hopkins took a quick 9-2 lead with Bugarinovic, Hammer, McIntyre and Corbett all getting in the box score early. After the slow start, Muhlenberg got things going and quickly made it a three-point game. Hopkins pushed the lead to nine with a methodical 7-1 burst, fueled by five points from Hammer, to take a 16-7 lead at the 12:15-mark in the first.
Back-to-back buckets by Killing pulled the Mules back within five but Williams and Randall answered with consecutive lay-ups, including a three-point play for Randall, and JHU led by 10. Killing sandwiched a jumper and a pair of free throws around a three-pointer by sophomore Austin Vasiliadis and the Blue Jays were up 24-15 with 8:20 to play in the half. Jon Schreer then drained a triple, followed by four straight points from Kevin Hargrove and just like that the lead was down to two. Hopkins once again answered, pushing back to out a nine-point advantage before Muhlenberg came right to make it a four-point game with 29 ticks on the clock after a James Albano three-pointer. Williams had the final say of the half with a pull-up jumper to give Hopkins a 37-31 lead at the half.
Killing opened the second in the second to trim the deficit to four, but Hopkins responded with a 17-6 run to take a 15-point lead at the 13:48-mark. The offense was spread around as five different players scored for the Blue Jays during the run. As was the case for the entire game, the Mules came back, chipping the lead down to 10 points just two and a half minutes later. Three straight three-pointers by Hammer, Killing and Corbett made it a 61-48 game midway through the half.
Hammer finished with 21 points, with four three-pointers, to go with three rebounds and a steal in 35 minutes. Bugarinovic and Corbett each finished with 11 points while Kotoulas added 10 points and four boards. McIntyre finished a game-high four blocks and a team-high five rebounds. Killing led all scorers with 33 points while also handing out three assists. Hargrove just missed a double-double as he grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and chipped in nine points to go with two blocks.
Hopkins returns to action on Tuesday, January 28 as the Blue Jays travel to Westminster, MD to take on the McDaniel Green Terror. The Centennial Conference tilt is slated for an 8:00 pm tip at the Gill Center.