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By JOE DRAPE
Donald Emanuel, Kyle Cuffe and Sharif Fordham missed point-blank tips one after another. Marcus Hatten, an all-Big East first team guard, banged jumpers off the front and the back of the rim. Willie Shaw arced shots too high off the backboard. It was hypnotic, like watching a slot machine reel off loser after loser. St. John's tried awfully hard,
to shoot themselves out of the Big East tournament, the N.C.A.A. tournament, even out of Madison Square Garden.
In the first nine and half minutes of the second half, St. John's missed its first 18 shots and turned a 1-point halftime lead into a 36-29 deficit. But fortunately, it never stopped playing nose-to-navel defense, and it paid off. St. John's defeated Seton Hall, 64-58, to advance to the quarterfinals tonight against Notre Dame.
"If you like defense, low-scoring games and shots clanging off the rim, then this was a classic," said a bemused, mystified and grateful Coach Mike Jarvis.
The Red Storm has a 20-10 record, something to marvel at, considering that it put on an 8-of-32 shooting display in the second half. Still, its N.C.A.A. tournament aspirations are alive, and it could enhance that opportunity to join the field of 65 by beating the Fighting Irish.
After a crowd of predominantly St. John's fans watched Syracuse lose to Villanova, 78-64, in the first game tonight at the sold-out Garden, it was little wonder that when the Red Storm finally broke their scoring drought a cathartic roar shook the building.
It came fittingly as a result of defense. As puckered and hopeless as the Red Storm was when it had the ball, it was just as loose and tenacious when it was trying to get it back. With 10 minutes 36 seconds left to play, Fordham stole the ball in the frontcourt and hit Emanuel streaking on the baseline.
Emanuel, a 6-9 senior, rammed home a rim-rattling dunk. "Coach tells us as long as we're in there battling for all 40 minutes we got a chance," Fordham said. "Luckily, I got the ball in Donald's hands and made something happen."
It was a start. Four minutes later St. John's had clawed back into a 41- 40 lead when Anthony Glover snatched another pass from the Pirates and called timeout just before falling out of bounds. The next trip down the floor Fordham grabbed a rebound and hopped to the middle for a short jumper that, for once, fell easily through the net. The Red Storm was off and running. Sort of.
With 3:53 left in the game, Hatten, who wound up shooting 5 of 19 for the game, glided through the lane for a corkscrew layup. Not only did it fall — for once — but Andre Barrett fouled him. When Hatten drained the free throw and St. John's was ahead, 49-46, it appeared the Red Storm had regained its composure.
But the Pirates (12-18) were not ready to call it a season. With 1:37 remaining, Darius Lane popped out to the right perimeter and swished a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 53-52.
Thirty seconds later, Hatten was rewarded for all his shooting attempts when he banked in a 3-pointer from just left of the key to give St. John's a 56-52 lead and quell the Pirates' charge.
Why did he let it go with plenty of time on the shot clock while he was suffering through a dreadful shooting night?
"It was a normal shot I take and I felt comfortable shooting, so I let it go," said Hatten, who finished with a team-high 16 points. "When it left my hand, I know left it a little bit harder than I usually shoot it. I called `bank.' You can ask Ty Shine."
Seton Hall Coach Louis Orr knew as soon as Hatten's shot kissed off the backboard and through the net that his team's tournament was over. The Pirates turned the ball over 24 times and shot a tepid 42 percent.
"Those are things you can't control," he said. "But I've got to give it to St. John's credit. They know how to win ugly. They know how to win those games where you shoot 33 percent."
In taking a 29-28 lead at halftime, the Red Storm showed the looseness that makes it a dangerous opponent, as well the limitations that usually make every game a full 40-minute nail-biter. St. John's spurted to a 19- 13 lead when its interior players, Glover, Cuffe and Emanuel, stepped beyond the 3-point arc and sank long- range jumpers on consecutive trips down the floor.
But then the hot touch vanished and the big men's trips to the perimeter turned costly. The Red Storm shot 41 percent for the half and got pounded on the boards by Seton Hall, 21-14.
Meanwhile, Barrett, a 5-8 point guard, kept slicing through the foul lane for twisting, acrobatic layups and 13 first-half-points for the Pirates.
The Red Storm does know how to pull those games out, but that doesn't mean Jarvis or his team wants to make it a habit. "I don't want to ever see it again, but I'll take it tonight," Jarvis said.
"You never know with my team," he added. "Come tomorrow night, we'll all find out. I'm as anxious as anyone to see what will happen."
Note: NY Times
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