Not Enough Juice In The End

At various points this afternoon, it seemed like it was not only possible, but destined to happen.  The ten men that make up St. John’s senior class have done many things together, but beating Syracuse had not been one of them.  Barring a third showdown in the NCAA Tournament, it looks like a win against the Orange will stand as the lone accomplishment missing from their resumes.

Paced by five players in double figures, including a career-high 12 points from freshman Fab Melo, the Orange (26-6) finally wore down St. John’s (21-11) and put the game away, defeating the Johnnies by the final of 79-73 in their Big East quarterfinal matchup.  Next up for Syracuse will be Connecticut, who defeated Pittsburgh 76-74 on a Kemba Walker buzzer-beater.  If recent history is any indication, tomorrow night’s semifinal matchup between the Huskies and Orange will be an epic, as their last Big East tournament contest was the legendary 127-117 Syracuse victory in an instant classic that took six overtimes to resolve.  Besides Melo having the game of his life, Brandon Triche (22 points) was the biggest factor for a Syracuse team making their second semifinal appearance in the last three years.

“I thought it was a great game,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.  “I thought Kris (Joseph) and Scoop (Jardine) bounced back with a great second half, and Brandon really got us going.”  Triche made four of the Orange’s seven three-pointers, prompting his coach to praise the sophomore shooting guard as a player who has “stepped up his shooting and kind of given us someone to go to that we didn’t have earlier in the year.”  Rick Jackson had a quiet ten points and nine rebounds, dominating a St. John’s interior game that was weakened due to the early loss of D.J. Kennedy, who was helped off the court favoring his right knee in the first half and did not return.  No official update has been given regarding Kennedy’s condition; but judging by the subdued and morose tones of St. John’s coach Steve Lavin and players Sean Evans and Dwight Hardy, it is much more serious than initially feared, perhaps as severe as a torn ACL and/or MCL.

“I’m proud of the way they were able to overcome adversity,” said Lavin after the game, the first in which the Red Storm suffered a loss when at least four players score in double figures.  Evans, who had a second consecutive solid game with 11 points and 12 rebounds, was clearly the most devastated by the loss of his teammate Kennedy, who is one of his closest friends on the team.  “I think it hurts me as much as it hurts him,” said the senior from Philadelphia.  “I’m going to play as hard as I can for D.J. and the rest of the team.”  Hardy, whose 22 points led St. John’s and tied Triche for the game high, said that if Kennedy didn’t get to play down the stretch, “it’s going to be devastating.”

St. John’s overcame a lackluster start in which Syracuse opened the game on a 14-5 run to take a five-point lead heading into the intermission.  The Orange then proceeded to come out of the break on a 9-1 run highlighted by trifectas from Jardine and Triche to take a 41-38 lead.  The rest of the second half went back and forth until an inbounds play designed for Jackson was executed to perfection.  The only difference is, Triche found a fast-breaking Fab Melo instead; and the Brazilian rookie laid it in to break a 68-all tie and give Syracuse a lead it would not relinquish.

While the Orange await UConn for the right to play for a conference title, St. John’s will head through the Midtown Tunnel back into Queens to await their fate on Selection Sunday.  Although the Red Storm are considered a lock for the 68-team field, it is still unknown as to where they will play or what seed they will receive.  Until then, here are this afternoon’s lasting impressions on a game that defined the words “Big East battle.”

Lasting Impressions

• After Kemba Walker’s game-winning heroics, the UConn-Pitt game was going to be a tough act to follow.  Syracuse and St. John’s may not have provided a dramatic ending the way Walker did two hours prior, but the quality of the game was just as good, if not slightly better.
• After not living up to the hype throughout the regular season, Fab Melo now has two consecutive double-figure scoring outings.  Melo had 10 against DePaul last Saturday, and set a new career high with 12 today against St. John’s.  After the game, Jim Boeheim explained that his freshman center had been practicing well, so he expected some improvement from the man voted preseason rookie of the year in the Big East.
• Never underestimate Brandon Triche.  The sophomore has made it easy to forget Andy Rautins in upstate New York, and his 22 points (albeit on 5-for-13 shooting) provided another clutch effort for the Orange, who have turned the tide after a four-game losing streak midway through the conference schedule that Scoop Jardine called “the best thing that could have happened to us,” as it kept the team together.
• Even with the loss, take nothing away from St. John’s.  They are one of the better teams in the country, and should be rewarded as such this Sunday night, perhaps with a 5 seed; maybe even a 4 depending on how much the selection committee values a Big East conference that will more than likely send eleven teams to the Big Dance.
• Finally, if this truly was the last time he took the court, let’s take a moment to recognize the career of one David J. Kennedy.  “The Hitman” was a cornerstone of this St. John’s team for four years, blossoming from a raw left-handed swingman under Norm Roberts to a polished playmaker that could score and work behind the scenes under Steve Lavin with equal precision and capability.  A player like Kennedy will not be forgotten anytime soon on the corner of Union and Utopia, and his contributions to the restoration of St. John’s basketball are simply too extensive to mention.  The man who wore jersey No. 1 on the court will almost certainly be player No. 1 in the minds of St. John’s fans around the world when the Red Storm’s return to glory is referenced.