By Joseph Staszewski
The final minutes were St. John’s University’s worst after a second half that was filled with so many of its best.
The Johnnies fought back from a 14-point first-half deficit to take a late two-point lead against the second-ranked Orange only to see poor execution down the stretch cost them a chance for an upset.
St. John’s missed free throws and forced shots and turned the ball over to allow Syracuse to escape with a 68-63 win in front of an energized crowd of 16,357 at Madison Square Garden Sunday afternoon.
“It shows that we still need to grow up,” St. John’s junior Sir’Dominic Pointer said.
Forward Orlando Sanchez couldn’t complete a three-point play at the free throw line with St. John’s up 60-58 with 5:48 left to play in the game. JaKarr Sampson, who missed a bulk of the second half with foul trouble, missed two free throws with 2:58 remaining. St. John’s was down just 62-60. Sampson, who scored 12 points, felt the extended time on the bench didn’t help.
“I felt that was a big part of the game, me missing two big free throws,” he said. “I felt like it turned the momentum.”
Syracuse guard C.J. Fair (21 points) proceeded to bury his first of two straight jumpers from the right corner. The other came after D’Angelo Harrison (21 points) made just 1-of-2 from the line. The Orange (10-0) closed the game on a 10-3 run.
The Red Storm (6-3) played the second half with the aggression and assertiveness Coach Steve Lavin asked for following a half in which he described their play as “tentative.”
The catalyst was freshman Rysheed Jordan, who had 13 points and six rebounds. He attacked the basket with a purpose and got to the free throw line. Jordan also did an excellent job defending Syracuse freshman guard Tyler Ennis, who scored just six of his 21 points after the break.
“That’s what we have been waiting for this whole year,” Pointer said of Jordan. “He made shots. He made free throws. He had his best game of the year.”
Jordan eventually connected on all three free throws after being fouled taking a trey to tie the score at 53-53 with 9:17 remaining in the game. He got a defensive rebound and fed Sanchez on the break for a hoop and the foul to give the Johnnies a two-point lead 3:00 later. Lavin said the majority of the second half was his team’s best stretch of basketball this season.
“When our team is playing well, it’s kind of what I hope we will become,” Lavin said.
His group just couldn’t sustain it, thanks to what Lavin called “atrocious” final minutes. It cost St. John’s a chance for a signature victory against a Syracuse program it has struggled to beat in recent years.
“It’s a great rivalry,” Harrison said. “That’s why we play them every year. We just need to get over that hump.”
