LANCASTER, Pa. -- The defense that has served the Johns Hopkins men so well all season finally crumbled last night.

And, Franklin & Marshall took full advantage, shooting a sizzling 62.8 percent from the field to oust the Blue Jays from the NCAA Division III Middle Atlantic Regional, 81-66, at the Mayser Center.

Hopkins (21-6) entered the game leading the nation against scoring (57.0 points) and ranked in the top 10 nationally against field-goal percentage (37.4). But all the numbers proved insignificant in this game as the Diplomats constantly found open shots to beat Hopkins for the third time.

"They really exploited us," said Blue Jays coach Bill Nelson. "They knew what we were going to do defensively and they picked us apart."

Particularly freshman center Alex Kraft and junior guard Jerome Maiatico, who combined for 43 points and 7-for-8 three-point shooting.

Maiatico was especially meddlesome during the final eight minutes of the first half, when Franklin & Marshall stormed away from a 22-22 tie into a 45-29 lead. He had a hand in 18 of the 23 points, scoring 16 of them. Three baskets were three-pointers.

"We get pumped up to play a team like this," he said. "They're our biggest rival."

The Blue Jays spent most of the remainder of the night playing a futile game of catch-up and targeting the ball toward junior Joel Wertman, who yesterday was named to the ECAC South Region first team after being selected Centennial Conference Player of the Year.

Wertman found plenty of room inside to pack 14 of his 22 points into the second half, but it wasn't nearly enough. The Blue Jays could never shave their deficit to fewer than four points (64-60 was the final occasion), and the Diplomats finally salted it away from the foul line.

"Today was a little bit rougher than the other two we lost," said Wertman. "We wanted to get a little revenge but came up short."

He said Hopkins was unable to stop Franklin & Marshall's ability to kick the ball outside to the 6-foot-6 Kraft and Maiatico, and that was the difference. Offensively, Hopkins was in a normal mode with Wertman finishing with 22 points and Nino Vanin pitching in 17.

But Franklin & Marshall connected on nine of 15 from beyond the arc and also missed just two of 20 free-throw attempts to deny the Blue Jays a school-record 22nd victory.

"They've really got four starting guards," said Nelson. "And we've only got three and some I can't hide on defense."

Franklin & Marshall advances to play Wilkes tomorrow night after atoning for two late-season losses at home.

JOHNS HOPKINS -- Koropecky 0-2 0-0 0, Peoples 2-3 0-0 4, Geschke 2-6 1-2 5, Stroman 0-3 0-0 0, Vanin 6-9 2-3 17, Olson 3-6 1-1 7, Cosgrove 1-3 7-8 9, Wertman 9-15 4-6 22, Satalin 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 24-52 15-20 66.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL -- Sadowski 2-5 4-4 9, Maiatico 7-8 3-5 21, Leddy 3-5 0-0 6, Sporny 1-1 2-2 4, Thomas 0-1 2-2 2, Manzo 1-1 2-2 4, Ritacco 6-11 0-0 13, Philbin 0-0 0-0 0, Kraft 7-11 5-5 22. Totals 27-43 18-20 81.

Halftime--Franklin & Marshall, 45-33. 3-point goals--JHU 3-18 (Vanin 3-6, Cosgrove 0-2, Koropecky 0-2, Satalin 0-2, Stroman 0-2, Geschke 0-4); FM 9-15 (Maiatico 4-4, Kraft 3-4, Ritacco 1-3, Sadowski 1-3, Leddy 0-1). Rebounds--JHU 21 (Wertman 6); FM 29 (Kraft 15). Assists--JHU 11 (Stroman 5); FM 19 (Sadowski 7). Total fouls--JHU 17, FM 17. A--800.

Pub Date: 3/05/99