Red Storm Nips UConn, 60-55 On Special Night At MSG
By Richard Kagan

Photo courtesy St. John’s U. Media Guide Freshman point guard Omar Cook kept firing away all night until he found the net.

It was a game that the St. John’s Red Storm simply had to have. They faced off against Big East rival University of Connecticut on Tuesday, Jan. 30th at Madison Square Garden and the stakes were high. The Johnnies needed a win for the present and to honor the past.

It was more than just another night. This was the night that St. John’s would forever acknowledge their legendary coach, Lou Carnesecca, by hoisting his banner to the Garden rafters at half-time. Numerous former players showed up, including crowd favorite Bill Wennington, who won three NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls. Former coaches and colleagues of Carnesecca were also on hand to honor the man who everyone affectionately calls "Looie." If the Red Storm needed another reason to be a little jittery, former President Bill Clinton was one of the spectators in the nearly packed Garden crowd.

The Red Storm (12-7, 6-2) wanted the win to keep their drive to the post-season alive. The win wasn’t a work of art, but it was a work of effort, and in the final minutes the Red Storm prevailed, 60-55 to beat the Huskies (13-7, 2-5).

St. John’s won despite shooting 41 percent from the field in the second half. They won despite managing to go to the free throw line just 11 times on 5 for 11 shooting. And they got the "W" even though it hit on only three of 19 three-point shots. But those three treys were timely shots and they came courtesy of freshman point guard Omar Cook, who kept firing away all night until he found the net. Cook took 21 shots, connected on seven and was just 3 for 15 from long distance. But he led St. John’s with 17 points and nine assists.

Red Storm Coach Mike Jarvis was proud that his team made the big effort in the crucial moments to come up with the loose ball on rebound. "Even in a night when you go 3 for 15, you can find a way to win, because you go out and you play maybe a little bit harder than the other team and you come up with the stops when you have to," Jarvis said. The Storm had nine offensive rebounds to Connecticut’s five in the second half, and that enabled SJU to get the extra shot. The Storm made just enough shots to win and send the Garden crowd home happy.

Cook got hot just at the right time by hitting big baskets and making nice assists to lead the Storm down the stretch. Cook’s long jumper for a trey put the Storm ahead, 52-47 with 5:47 to play. But the Huskies, fighting for their own post-season options, wouldn’t back down, and tied the game at 54-54 when the referee called goal-tending on SJU’s Donald Emanuel. Emanuel got his first start of the season and played a strong game with eight points and four rebounds.

Emanuel’s slam dunk off of a Cook pass broke the tie and gave the Red Storm a 56-54 lead with just 1:13 to go in the game. The Storm went up by four points when Cook scored on a clutch drive to the basket with just 0:24 seconds left. But the game wasn’t over just yet.

Trailing 58-55, the Huskies had one last shot to tie the game, but Sharif Fordham and Cook combined to make a big defensive stop and Reggie Jessie, the senior captain of the Storm, took a pass for a wide open layup just before the buzzer for the final basket.

The Garden crowd was alive throughout the whole game. At a touching half-time ceremony, Carnesecca got a warm ovation as his banner was slowly raised to the ceiling. Emanuel thought the crowd helped the Johnnies get through a couple of tough spots. "The crowd was magnificent tonight," Emanuel said.

The Red Storm will begin the month of February with a difficult three-game road trip.