Over the weekend, the Hopkins men’s basketball team hosted the Ursinus Bears at the 16th Annual Wall-O’Mahony Memorial game. The event is one of the most important of the season for the Jays, as it is honors the memory of Glenn Wall and Matt O’Mahony.
Both men starred on the Hopkins basketball team and were members of the 1984 class who sadly perished during the terror attacks of 9/11. The game is held annually during the Hopkins Basketball Alumni Weekend and serves as a time for the entire Blue Jay family to come together, reflect, bond and cheer on the current squad.
The atmosphere in Goldfarb Gym was electric as the Jays squared up against a tough Centennial Conference opponent. The Bears controlled most of the first half, but a number of gutsy Hopkins runs kept the deficit manageable. With the Bears up 22-13 early, the Jays refused to let the margin continue to grow and entered the locker room trailing 51-40.
However, the Jays erupted out of the gate to open the second half, utilizing a 15-4 run that would tie the game at 55 with 11:34 to play. Standout junior forward Kyle Doran sparked the rally in the first half by scoring the first six points for the Jays off of the tip.
Trailing 55-52 in the second half, Doran drained a impressive three-pointer that sent shockwaves through Goldfarb and brought the Jays back from the brink of defeat.
The Bears would still respond, building their lead back to nine with less than four minutes to play. The Jays would need to dig deep and feed off the passion of their home crowd if they wanted to prevail, and they did just that. Sophomore guard Michael Gardner hit a jumper that sparked the 15-3 rally that ended with graduate student forward Sam Gordon giving the Jays their first lead of the game, 69-68, with two minutes left to play.
With the score notched at 71 apiece, Gordon was able to corral the rebound off a miss from graduate student guard Austin Vasiliadis, kicking it out to Gardner. Gardner calmly crossed over his defender and drained a three pointer that would win the game for the Blue Jays.
Leading 74-71 with under three seconds to play, the Jays would successfully contest a half-court heave from the Bears, which hit the rim as time expired.
Doran led all scorers with 18 points and three steals for Jays in their victory. He was named the Wall-O’Mahony MVP for his performance and told The News-Letter that it was an honor he would not have claimed without the help of his teammates.
“To come back from that deficit took a team effort, and winning that game is important to the team and all the alumni who came out to watch,” Doran said. “Being named MVP just means my teammates found me for the most open shots that day. It is a great honor.”
Gardner, who hit the game winning shot, said the key was the defense’s improvement.
“In the second half, we really clamped down on defense. We allowed 51 [points] in the first and only 20 in the second half.” Gardner said.
In the moments leading up to the final shot, Gardner remained confident.
“I have always dreamed of being in that situation with 10 seconds left and the ball in my hands. There wasn’t enough time left for me to really think about it.” Gardner said. “It was a surreal moment for me, especially for something like that to happen on alumni day, a game commemorating two men who were victims of the attacks on 9/11. I do not usually believe in this kind of stuff, but I like to think my dad was there with me during those final moments of the game.”
