By Anthony Bosco
Jarvis' young team has lost two of its last three games heading into Wednesday's showdown with Ohio State and a quick turnaround is needed if the Johnnies are to revitalize themselves in time for the club's Big East opener against Virginia Tech on Jan. 3.
After Ohio State, St. John's (4-3) has games against three opponents the club “should” be able to handle, local teams Hofstra and Manhattan and the University of San Francisco. But nothing seems as it should for St. John's early into Jarvis' third year at the helm.
“No one said it was going to be easy and it isn't,” Jarvis said after his team's loss to the Rams, a game St. John's played as the away team at its home-away from-home Madison Square Garden. “We hope and we pray that we will start to do the things we are capable of doing.”
Jarvis' club started the season strong, with a 62-61 come-from-behind win over Kentucky, and followed that with a tough, gutsy loss to powerhouse Kansas, both in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Blowout wins over Stony Brook and Niagara seemed only to bolster the confidence of this young team as it ventured to Washington, D.C. to take on Jarvis' old club, the George Washington Colonials.
But an ugly 10-point loss and a tougher-than-expected win over Michigan in the consolation game of the BB&T Classic saw a suddenly vulnerable St. John's team return to New York for its date with Fordham (6-1). And the Rams took advantage.
St. John's took a 15-9 lead 6:44 into the first half when Omar Cook hit two of three from the foul line, capping a 6-0 run. The lead grew to eight three minutes later when Kyle Cuffe scored from under the basket to make the score 22-14.
But Fordham's Jason Harris hit back-to-back threes and Bevon Robin converted the old-fashioned three-point play to pull the Rams within two, 25-23.
Cook and Anthony Glover missed the front end on one-and-one opportunities late in the first half, enabling Fordham to stay close. Cook's running jumper with 3:56 remaining were the last points for St. John's in the half. The Rams went on an 11-0 run to take a 37-31 lead into the break.
“I just think this was a game, ultimately, that was going to come down to the last play,” Jarvis said.
St. John's seemed to come out with a sense of purpose in the second half, quickly pulling close to Fordham and eventually taking the lead at the 12:24 mark when Reggie Jessie sank both ends of a one-and-one.
The two teams battled on even terms for most of the second half, until the Red Storm started to pull away. A three-pointer by Willie Shaw at 5:17 and a lay-up by Glover at 4:30 gave St. John's a seven-point lead, 65-58.
But the Rams came charging back. Jeff McMillan, Duke Freeman-McKam and Robin pulled the Rams to within one while St. John's offense went dormant and McMillan's hook shot with 1:39 to go gave Fordham the lead, 66-65.
Glover missed a pair of free throws at 1:25, setting up a great possession by Fordham, which scored no points but ran more than 40 seconds off the clock.
Jessie nearly saved the day for St. John's, picking off a bad pass by Robin and dishing to Shaw, who was fouled going to the hole. The freshman hit both free throws with 18.4 remaining, giving St. John's the lead again.
But Robin stole the day. Working the ball upcourt, he beat Glover going right and then charged the basket, lofting a shot over the outstretched arms of Mohamed Diakite that eventually fell through the net with just 3.7 remaining in regulation.
Shaw's desperation three at the buzzer missed the mark, sealing Fordham's upset win.
“It was a big win,” said Fordham coach Bob Hill. “Once we got into the game I thought we could win. It's just a great feeling right now.”
“I just tried to turn the corner and hopefully something would come of it,” Robin said of his winning basket. “I was just trying to get it high off the glass.”
Jarvis acknowledged that his team let one slip away.
“Fordham gave us a tough basketball game, a game I believe we should've won,” the coach said. “Fordham's got a good team. You don't beat St. John's if you're not a good team.”
Glover finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Shaw added 19 and four boards. Cook had 12 points and seven assists with seven turnovers. Robin was the high man for Fordham with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. McMillan had 10 points and eight boards and Freeman-McKam had 10 and 11.
Notes: The loss to Fordham dropped the Red Storm's edge in the all-time match-up of local schools to 57-20 and was Jarvis' first loss at the hands of his former Atlantic-10 opponent. The Johnnies shot 38.6 percent from the field in the loss and made just 6-of-20 from behind the arc. The team hit 63 percent of its free throws (17-of-27).
St. John's had not lost to Fordham since the Brian Mahoney era eight years ago, when the Rams beat St. John's 60-55 at Rose Hill on Dec. 10, 1992.
St. John's hosts Hofstra at the Nassau Coliseum Saturday at 2 p.m. Hofstra boasts several Queens-bred players, including Joel Suarez (St. Mary's), Mike Feeley (St. Francis Prep), Abdou Sylla (Cardozo) and Mike Radziejewski (Christ the King).
