The most superstitious of fans sensed the worst when the Red Storm took to the court.
Wearing their alternate black uniforms; the same third jerseys that St. John’s has won a grand total of one game in over the program’s 104-year history, St. John’s (13-17, 6-11) was competitive in the first half before being done in over the final stanza in an 89-69 loss to Pittsburgh (16-14, 5-12) at the Petersen Center, where the Panthers are now 6-0 all time against New York City’s college team.
“We really wanted to play well for our seniors tonight,” said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon after four-year players Ashton Gibbs, (19 points to lead the Panthers) Travon Woodall and Nasir Robinson were honored prior to the opening tip. “We felt it was our last time with them playing here, and I’m happy we played so well.”
Despite yet another stellar performance from Gibbs; voted the Big East preseason player of the year, St. John’s rewrote its illustrious history when D’Angelo Harrison broke the single season record for most points scored by a freshman with his 21-point outing last night. Harrison’s latest 20-point game was enough to vault him past former Red Storm point guard Erick Barkley on the milestone list. “It’s a tremendous accomplishment,” said Harrison; “but I’d rather get a win for our team every night. Any guy on our team is capable of getting a record like that.”
The Red Storm conclude the regular season with a trip to New Jersey to face Rutgers in a matchup that will determine St. John’s seeding in the Big East tournament next week, which will be explained along with the game itself in our latest batch of lasting impressions.
Lasting Impressions
– Last night’s loss precluded St. John’s from securing the No. 9 seed in the Big East tournament. With a win Saturday night at Rutgers, the Red Storm will secure the No. 11 spot and a 9pm tipoff on Tuesday night. A loss could potentially drop them as far as the No. 14; which would also be in the 9pm game, but more likely into the 12/13 pairing that is showcased in the same 2pm time slot that St. John’s has drawn in each of the first three seasons under the current tournament format.
– St. John’s kept the game close in the first half, only trailing by five when Pittsburgh took a 38-33 lead into the locker room. From there, the Panthers shot 68 percent (17-for-25) over the final stanza to pull away one basket after another.
– An ankle injury to Moe Harkless in the first half helped Pitt take advantage inside and muscle their way to a 31-17 rebounding edge on the Red Storm. Harkless returned, but the Panthers found their way to the paint when they were not draining NBA-range threes with the several open looks they received.
– Finally; although it came in a losing effort, Phil Greene (18 points, seven assists) is awarded the game ball. Greene played a full 40 minutes and only turned the ball over three times while shooting 8-for-12 from the field against Pittsburgh’s smothering defense. Through numerous stretches in the first half, Greene seemingly could not miss. His mid-range game was even more effective, hitting one rainbow after another from various spots inside the three-point line.
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