The blood-red roses were dazzling. The camera flashes reflected off the frames containing the senior’s jerseys. The 4,000 Steve Lavin Bobblehead dolls bobbled to strains of the pep band.
The families and friends from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Queens and The Bronx, Tipton, Ga. And Lagos, Nigeria, turned the sellout crowd in Carnesecca Arena into a reveling love fest.
There might never have been a more emotional, more meaningful Senior Night in St. John’s basketball history.
The 10 seniors, eight of whom took a chance on a program that had bottomed out and the two who were the final piece of the puzzle, were celebrated last light before St. John’s 72-56 victory over South Florida (9-22 overall, 3-15 Big East).
“There’s been a lot of sweat, blood and tears into this building and into the floor of Carnesecca and Taffner Fieldhouse,” senior guard Paris Horne said. “It’s a special night for us.”
The Post asked each of these 10 seniors who have elevated this program from the basement (they were 11-19 as freshmen) to the penthouse (20-10, 12-6) to recount their worst and best memories of their St. John’s career.
Here are their thoughts:
MALIK BOOTHE, Queens — “The low point was freshman year. We were playing Georgetown at the Garden. We were down like 30 at halftime (41-14). We didn’t have a field goal in 10 minutes. We managed to only score 14 points in the first half.
“I honestly feel like this whole season is the high point because this is what we came to St. John’s to do. We came to try to rebuild the program and bring back a winning tradition.”
JUSTIN BROWNLEE, Tifton, Ga. — “The lowest point was the NIT game [last year] when we lost at the buzzer beater. Just going into the locker room, looking at the face of Mace [Anthony Mason Jr.], our senior leader from last year. Seeing him so hurt because he put he put his heart into the season.
“The highest point was beating Duke at the Garden. There was 19-five in the Garden. It was just so exciting. Saying St. John’s basketball is back at the highest level.”
JUSTIN BURRELL, The Bronx — “My low point was my freshman when we lost to West Virginia in the Garden and that was our last game. No postseason. No Big East Tournament. That was the end of it.
The high point I’d definitely like to go with [beating] Duke or Pittsburgh. Just because of the significance behind both teams, the names and the importance of people understanding that St. John’s is for real.”
KEVIN CLARK, Dunmore, Pa. — “The low point was the past three years. It’s not so much of a low point, but it’s been tough on us.
“The high point is this run we’ve been on and the people noticing us and coming out to support us. We haven’t experienced it before.”
DELE COKER, Lagos, Nigeria — “The low point was losing [former coach] Norm [Roberts]. It was just a lowly feeling. We didn’t know what to expect, if the coach that was coming was going to be good or bad. It was just a sad point for everybody.
“The high point is definitely this summer, all the work we put in as a team and how it started to materialize. You could see that something special was about to happen.”
SEAN EVANS, Philadelphia — “Just the struggles we had from the losses, the big losses, the wins we should have had that we let slip away. Just all the craziness.
“The high point was the Duke game, beating Duke, getting ranked. That’s something we wanted to do as freshmen. We finally got it done as seniors. And the freshmen that came in stayed together. Got through the tough times. That’s a high point right there.”
DWIGHT HARDY, The Bronx — “The worse game I could think of was at Rutgers [84-72 loss last year]. That game right there, I felt so bad. I felt like I wasn’t even out there. I let my teammates down. From that moment on I knew I had to elevate my game.
“The one moment when I knew I was prepared for this season was the Georgetown game [61-58 win]. Just down stretch I took over the game and gave my team a chance to win. That’s when I became the leader I knew I could be.”
PARIS HORNE, Middletown, Del. — “Senior Night last year when we lost to Marquette on a buzzer beater. It was Senior Night for Mase, and we wanted to send him out with a bang after everything he’d been through.
“The high moment was probably beating Duke because it’s Duke. Everyone wants to beat Duke. This was our last shot to do it. We stayed with it.”
D.J. KENNEDY, Pittsburgh — “I think freshman year was the low point. Coming in from high school and used to winning, making that transition to losing, that was the toughest point.
“The high point is right now. It kind of went step by step, year by year. As you could see, the highest point is right now.”
ROB THOMAS, Harlem — “The low point was my freshman year when I came in and hurt my knee. I could never become the player I used to be.
“The high point was the support I had at St. John’s. Everyone helped [me] come through that.”