Sports

St. John’s boosts NCAA resume with win at Cincinnati

CINCINNATI — If this St. John’s team is going to realize its dream — its grandest dream — it is going to have to exorcise some demons.

Demons such as Cincinnati, which might not hold the fear factor of a Duke or Connecticut or Georgetown, but has been terrorizing the Red Storm in its own way.

The Bearcats almost did it again yesterday, almost stole a win that would have left the Johnnies and their NCAA Tournament dreams curled up under a blanket, trembling.

St. John’s, having lost to Cincy 23 days ago because of a woeful showing from the foul line, had just blown a 12-point second half lead and was trailing 57-54 with 1:27 remaining.

But the Johnnies wouldn’t be demonized this time. The Red Storm’s remarkable 59-57 win just might have turned their status from a bubble team into a near Big Dance lock.

“There maybe is a karma payback, poetic justice that we were able to win a game against an opponent that we previously lost to because of the free-throw shooting,” St. John’s coach Steve Lavin said.

Call it karma. Call it poetic justice. Call it exorcising the demons.

Had Cincy (19-6, 6-6 Big East), another league bubble team, won this game, the Bearcats could have boasted a 20-win season and a sweep of the Johnnies.

St. John’s (15-9, 7-5), which moved into a tie for fifth place in the league, now looks better on paper with an RPI of 19 and the No. 2 strength of schedule, byproducts of the team’s wins over ranked opponents Duke, Connecticut, Georgetown and Notre Dame.

“I know that we are building an impressive body of work,” Lavin said.

Guard Dwight Hardy, playing like an all-league pick, scored 18 points and shot 4-of-7 on 3-pointers. He took the Red Storm’s NCAA Tournament chances even further.

“I could sniff it,” he said.

Victory was in the air when the Johnnies opened a 52-40 lead with nine minutes remaining. But Cincy, getting just 13 minutes and zero points from standout forward Yancy Gates, who is in coach Mick Cronin’s doghouse, began raining 3s.

When Rashad Bishop converted one of two free throws with 1:27 left, the Bearcats had a 57-54 lead. Another demonic loss to the Bearcats was rearing its head.

The Johnnies, who missed 14 of 26 free throws in the 53-51 loss to Cincy earlier this year, made 9 of 12 yesterday, including 5 of 6 in the final 1:18. The Red Storm even watched the film of that gut-wrenching loss on the bus ride from the hotel to the Fifth Third Arena.

“We talked about it a lot,” Hardy said. “In my mind we let that game slip away. We beat ourselves back in Queens.”

It wouldn’t happen in the Queen City.

Justin Burrell hit a pair of foul shots. Malik Boothe missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 42.9 left, but Bishop was called for a lane violation.

“Great call,” quipped Red Storm forward Sean Evans.

Boothe, with a second life, hit both, putting St. John’s in front, 58-57. Justin Brownlee, fouled after pulling down a huge rebound on a missed Bishop jumper, hit one of two with 3.5 seconds left.

When Sean Kilpatrick’s final heave about two steps over halfcourt ricocheted off the rim, the Bearcat demon was dead and the St. John’s dream was very much alive.

“This is something we’ve all wanted when we were recruited to come here,” said Boothe, one of the team’s nine seniors. “We wanted to rebuild St. John’s, get back to the tournament, win for us and lay the foundation for the following classes after us.”