On Saturday afternoon, the Hopkins Men’s Basketball team hosted their 15th annual Wall-O’Mahoney Game when they took on the Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats at Goldfarb Gymnasium.
The game is played to commemorate and honor the lives of Glenn Wall ’84 and Matt O’Mahoney ’84, a pair of good friends, outstanding teammates and standout Hopkins basketball alumni who died in the terror attacks of 9/11. Serving as a constant reminder that both sports and life are truly larger than just wins and losses, the game honors the legacies of two remarkable men who were taken far too soon.
However, there was a game to be played on this day, and a pivotal one at that. The Blue Jays hosted the leaders of the Centennial Conference, No. 16 Diplomats, and the Jays put together a spirited performance and pulled out an 84-79, season-defining upset victory over a talented foe. With the win, Hopkins moves to an even 11-11 for the year (8-7 CC), while Franklin & Marshall drops to 18-4 (13-2 CC).
Trailing 61-52 with under nine remaining in the contest, the Jays catapulted themselves ahead with a decisive 11-2 surge. The Diplomats would respond with a run of their own, pulling ahead by five with under three to play. Leveled at 68-68 all, senior forward Sam Gordon would bank a shot off the glass to pull Hopkins ahead 70-68. The standout forward would also hit two clutch free throws in the waning moments of the contest to put the game out of reach.
Although he is a senior, Gordon still has athletic eligibility remaining and will be returning to the court next season as he pursues a Masters in Finance. While he has emerged this season as a pivotal member of a team that is looking to contend for a playoff berth, Gordon’s journey has not been an easy or conventional one. He was not recruited to Hopkins for basketball, but came for the academics and expressed hope that he could one day join the team as a walk on.
“I figured that if I didn’t make it, I could live without playing competitive basketball.” Gordon said. “However, at some point early in the year Coach Nelson informed me that there wouldn’t be tryouts, so I just played in the rec center. I quickly realized that I missed playing organized basketball, and that it was something integral to my educational experience.”
In the beginning of his sophomore year, Gordon spent all of the preseason slate attempting to make the squad, participating in grueling practices and exerting substantial effort without any assurances that this dedication would pay off.
“Tryouts started in the preseason when all the potential walk-ons plus the current team members had two 6 a.m. workouts and three pickup sessions every week for about eight weeks,” Gordon said. “I really got to know the team then, and everyone treated me like a team member even though I wasn’t one. Anyways, practices started in October, and after a few practices Coach Nelson told me that he wanted me to be part of the team but that the administration wouldn’t let him add a roster spot.”
While admittedly devastating for Gordon, he remained connected to the team throughout his sophomore season by conducting statistical analysis for the squad. The following year, a coveted roster spot finally opened up, and Gordon was able to finally join the Jays as a junior.
“I kind of have an unorthodox, wild style of play, and I think some of the coaches were skeptical of playing me during my first year on the team,” Gordon said. “I played 40 minutes the whole year, and I really thought I could have contributed more, but we won 25 games so I was happy anyways.”
Gordon had accomplished his goal, but the fight for increased playing time would be an even more daunting test. He began the current campaign once again coming off the bench, but a series of injuries and flashes of excellent play would force him into the starting lineup just a few games into the slate.
Gordon has thrived for the Jays as a starter, posting an average of 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in only 22 minutes a game and leads the team in field goal percentage.
“In terms of how I’ve grown, I think I just learned to be patient and persistent,” Gordon said. “I had to wait to be on the team, wait to get playing time, wait to start. It definitely helped that so many of the guys on the team supported me being on it, and I’ll never forget that.”
Gordon is not the only senior who will be making another run with the Jays next winter. Standout senior guard Austin Vasiliadis, who tore his ACL early in the season against Ursinus, has taken a medical redshirt to preserve eligibility with the hope of making a comeback next season.
Although he had served primarily as a facilitator during much of his Hopkins career, currently sitting at 10th all time in career assists with 223, Vasiliadis had emerged as the primary scorer during the early portion of his senior campaign.
In six games of action this year, Austin averaged a team-leading 14.3 points and 5.7 assists per game and really began to assert himself as a leader and dynamic playmaker for the Jays.
“It has been really tough for me to sit out this year, especially after playing so well to start the season and being a leader on the team,” Vasiliadis said. “Because of the timing of my injury and surgery date, I had to be away from the team for the entire month of January. I can’t help but feel like I’ve let the team down in a way by not being out there on the court and in the locker room, even though the situation was out of my control.”
However, Vasiliadis has received a great deal of support and also has firsthand experience dealing with a similar injury he suffered during his senior year of high school.
“I’ve received a tremendous amount of support from my teammates, coaches, family and friends, which has made the process a lot easier,” Vasiliadis said. “I tore my ACL in the same knee during my senior year of high school, and having something to look forward to in the opportunity to play again at Hopkins really helped get me through that tough period in life. Being in a similar situation this year, it is encouraging to know that I will have something to work toward getting healthy for and hopefully finish out my career on a high note next year.”
With these two dynamic playmakers returning next season, the Jays should remain in prime position as a strong challenger for the Centennial Conference crown. Both on and off the court, these two men have displayed extraordinary resiliency and dedication to their craft.
