Johnnies Snap Losing Streak, Beat Manhattan, 72–63
By Richard Kagan

Anthony Glover shook off a quiet first half and just missed a double-double, scoring nine points and hauling in 12 rebounds.

Things were not looking good for the St. John’s men’s basketball team at half-time in last Wednesday night’s game against Manhattan College.

The Red Storm trailed 38–32 and was in jeopardy of ending its 24-game winning streak at Alumni Hall. The Storm had already lost to Hofstra and Fordham this season. St. John’s had defeated the Jaspers the last 16 times they’ve played, and an Alumni Hall loss would have been crushing.

In the locker room, St. John’s Coach Mike Jarvis saw that his team was a bit on the ropes, and said: "Enough already." The Red Storm heeded his words down the stretch, broke away from a determined opponent, and won a game closer than the 72–63 score would indicate.

The Johnnies shot a blistering 61.9 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes and they needed every basket to hold off the Jaspers (3-4), who last beat St. John’s during the 1976-77 season. Red Storm point guard Omar Cook played great in the last five minutes to help seal the victory. Cook led St. John’s with 22 points, 15 coming in the second half. Willie Shaw, the talented freshman forward, scored 19 points on 7 for 11 shooting from the floor. Anthony Glover shook off a quiet first half and just missed a double-double, scoring nine points and hauling in 12 rebounds.

It was a nip and tuck contest but in the closing minutes, the Red Storm got to the loose balls, controlled the basketball and made its shots count. Jarvis finally had a smile on his face after SJU ended a three-game losing streak. "We executed well when we had to, down the stretch," Jarvis said. Donald Emanuel, the reserve forward center, came off the bench, and grabbed some key rebounds down the stretch. His only basket of the game gave the Storm a 67-60 lead with 2:32 to play. Omar Cook came up big and scored six clutch points in the final five minutes.

The Johnnies out-rebounded Manhattan 26-8 in the second half. St.John’s got to the charity stripe more often in the second half and made their free throws count. Meanwhile, Manhattan, with the best free throw percentage (81.8 percent) in the nation coming into the game, hit on only 17 or 30 attempts. Those 13 misses hurt the Jaspers’ cause.

Manhattans Coach Bobby Gonzalez said, "I thought we played a great first half. The first 20 minutes were tremendous." But college basketball is a 40-minute game and in the final 10 minutes, the Johnnies finally asserted their will. Newcomer Kyle Cuffe jammed the ball for the Storm and broke a 49-49 tie with 9:39 to play. The Johnnies held the lead for the rest of the game, but the Jaspers were within a few baskets until Cook took over. Cook’s free throw gave SJU a 70-60 lead with 1:46 to play, and it seemed that the Johnnies would even its record to 5-5 for the young season.

The Storm gave itself a nice early Christmas present with the win. Glover said he could now celebrate the holiday in a better mood. "It makes Christmas much better."

Forward Sharif Fordham started the game in place of a slumping Reggie Jessie. Fordham had some key baskets in the second half and ended up with eight points and five rebounds. Senior forward Durelle Brown scored 25 points for the Jaspers.