Times wires
Saturday, February 19, 2011
NEW YORK — Madison Square Garden has been a second home to St. John's basketball over the past eight decades.
The current team has turned the building at 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue into a house of horrors for highly ranked teams.
Dwight Hardy's underhanded flip with 1.2 seconds left Saturday gave the Red Storm a 60-59 victory over No. 4 Pittsburgh before a crowd of 14,514. It was its fifth win this season over a team that spent time in the top 10; all have been at Madison Square Garden.
With five wins in six games overall, St. John's is looking at its first Top 25 appearance in just more than a decade.
"I can't wait," Red Storm forward Justin Burrell said. "We deserve to see that number."
Much of the credit has to go to first-year coach Steve Lavin, who has reminded some of St. John's legend Lou Carnesecca's low-pressure style.
"He's calm. He's the calmest out of everybody, just sitting there smiling and tells us we're going to win the game and to stick with it," Hardy said of Lavin, who returned to coaching after seven years as a TV analyst.
Hardy started his winning drive near midcourt and went past Gilbert Brown twice on the right side of the court. He went to the baseline and underhanded the ball up and over the rim.
"I knew the ball was going to be in my hands during the timeout," Hardy said. "Once I couldn't make my initial move, I just had to go with my instincts, not think, and I had a layup with reverse spin, made the shot and no one was on my side. When I saw that, I elevated as quick as I could so no one could come over and block it."
Ashton Gibbs, who missed three games with an MCL injury to his left knee, had a career-high 26 points for the Panthers (24-3, 12-2), who had won five straight.
NO. 1 KANSAS 89, COLO. 63: Markieff Morris had 26 points and 15 rebounds as the host Jayhawks (25-2, 10-2 Big 12) bounced back from an ugly loss to Kansas State.
NEBRASKA 70, NO. 3 TEXAS 67: Brandon Richardson hit two free throws with 7.2 seconds left for the host Cornhuskers, who snapped a record 11-game Big 12 winning streak by the Longhorns (23-4, 11-1).
NO. 6 SAN DIEGO ST. 70, AIR FORCE 58: Malcolm Thomas had 20 points to help the visiting Aztecs (27-1, 12-1 Mountain West) set a school record for victories.
NO. 7 BYU 79, TCU 56: Jimmer Fredette had 23 points to lead four players in double figures for the visiting Cougars (25-2, 11-1 Mountain West).
W. VA. 72, NO. 8 NOTRE DAME 58: Truck Bryant broke out of a slump with 24 points for the host Mountaineers, who ended a seven-game winning streak by the Irish (21-5, 10-4 Big East).
NO. 12 ARIZONA 87, WASH. 86: Derrick Williams had 26 points, 13 rebounds and a game-saving block on Darnell Gant with less than a second left, lifting the host Wildcats (23-4, 12-2 Pac-10).
NO. 15 VILLANOVA 77, DEPAUL 75, OT: Corey Fisher had a career-high 34 points and hit a tying 3-pointer near the end of regulation as the visiting Wildcats (21-6, 9-5 Big East) escaped.
NO. 17 SYRACUSE 84, RUTGERS 80, OT: Kris Joseph scored six of his 21 in overtime for the host Orange (22-6, 9-6 Big East), which avoided a major upset.
NO. 18 VANDY 77, AUBURN 60: The visiting Commodores (20-6, 8-4 SEC) went on a 23-4 run after the Tigers had tied it six minutes into the second half.
NO. 19 UNC 48, BC 46: The visiting Tar Heels (20-6, 10-2 ACC) held the Eagles to a season-worst 26.9 percent shooting.
NO. 20 MIzzou 76, IOWA ST. 70: Marcus Denmon had 25 points as the Tigers (21-6, 7-5) got their first Big 12 road win this season.
NO. 21 TEXAS A&M 67, OKLA. ST. 66: B.J. Holmes hit two key free throws in the final seconds as the visiting Aggies (21-5, 8-4 Big 12) won their fourth straight game.
NO. 22 KENTUCKY 90, S.C. 59: Darius Miller had a career-high 22 points for the host Wildcats (19-7, 7-5 SEC).
NO. 24 XAVIER 79, FORDHAM 72: Tu Holloway had his second career triple double with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the host Musketeers (20-6, 11-1 Atlantic 10).
NO. 25 UTAH ST. 75, SAINT MARY'S 65: Tai Wesley and Brockeith Pane had 22 points each, and the visiting Aggies (25-3) rallied from a 10-point deficit early in the second half.
REBOUND MARK: Morehead State's Kenneth Faried snapped Tim Duncan's modern (since 1973) Division I career rebounding record with 12, giving him 1,576, six more than Duncan had at Wake Forest from 1994 to 1997.
State
UAB 63, UCF 58: The Blazers snapped a two-game winning streak by the Golden Knights (16-9, 3-9 C-USA).
TAMPA 91, NOVA SE 82, OT: Anthony Griffis had 21 points as the host Spartans (20-5, 9-5 Sunshine State) reached 20 wins for the first time since 2007-08.
ECKERD 65, FLA. TECH 63: Alex Bodney hit two free throws with 0.5 seconds left to lift the visiting Tritons (19-6, 10-5 SSC) to their fourth straight win.