Jan. 2, 2009

Box Score

KISSIMMEE, FL - The Johns Hopkins men's basketball went 26-of-34 from the free throw line in the second half en route to a 62-47 win over Roger Williams in the ECAC Holiday Classic at the Disney Wide World of Sports Friday evening. The Blue Jays improve to 5-3 on the season and advance to the championship game.

The first half was a low scoring affair as the Blue Jay defense held the Hawks to just five field goals and 14 points. Trailing 5-4 with 13:33 to play, Hopkins would retake the lead on a layup from junior forward Andrew Farber-Miller (Charlottesville, VA/St. Anne's-Belfield). That lay-up sparked 17-9 Blue Jay run to end the half as the JHU defense held Roger Williams without a field goal for a span of 8:34 during the run.

Hopkins made just seven field goals in the second half, but made Roger Williams pay at the charity stripe. The march to the free throw line for the Blue Jays began just 16 seconds in as Ryan McGinn fouled junior Adam Baumgartner (Reston, VA/Bishop O'Connell) on a rebound. Baumgartner nailed both of his shots to push the Blue Jays lead to 10. Hopkins maintained its double-digit lead over the next 10 minutes, despite making just three field goals.

But Roger Williams made its inevitable run as the Hawks cut a 10-point deficit to just three points with a 10-3 run, fueled by four points from Taylor Petruccelli. That would be as close as Roger Williams would get as Hopkins responded with an 18-6 game-ending run. Senior Scott Weisenfeld (Mt. Kisco, NY/Horace-Greeley) went 7-of-10 from the free throw line, while junior Pat O'Connell (Baltimore, MD/Loyola Blakefield) chipped in six points as the Blue Jays held off the Hawks.

Farber-Miller paced the Blue Jays with a game-high 17 points, including 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. He has scored in double-digits in seven straight games this season. O'Connell was the only other Blue Jay in double figures with 10 points, including 6-of-6 from the line. Baumgartner pulled in a game-high nine rebounds as Hopkins out-rebounded Roger Williams 34-28. Pat Flannagan was the only Hawk in double-digits with 10 points.