The…
By Anthony Bosco
Omar Cook had the ball in his hands in the final seconds — just the way it should have been. He wrapped the ball around both arms and hunched over, out of fatigue and jubilation, when the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of a truly magnificent war.
The freshman point guard out of Christ the King High School was the hero, no doubt, leading the St. John’s Red Storm back from the brink to defeat the University of Miami Hurricanes in double overtime, 85-79.
He also may have salvaged the team’s hopes of an NCAA Tournament appearance along the way.
“There’s something about this kid that you just knew, some way, somehow, for what he had to go through, he was going to do something special,” said St. John’s head coach Mike Jarvis.
What Cook did was turn a three-point deficit in the second overtime into a five-point advantage virtually single-handedly — all the while aching from five freshly sewn stitches in his upper lip, courtesy of a inadvertent elbow thrown by Miami’s Darius Rice.
The injury kept Cook out of action for more than seven minutes. When he left, St. John’s (13-9, 7-4) was up by four and when he returned the team trailed by four, 43-39. His presence and perseverance, however, would be the difference.
“I was trying to rush them to get me back out there,” Cook said.
Unfortunately for Miami (12-10, 4-7), Cook did return.
In the moments following his return, the momentum of the foul-plagued affair swung back to St. John’s favor. A Donald Emanuel slam dunk at 5:08 tied the game at 52 and Reggie Jessie’s layup moments later gave the Red Storm the lead again.
But the Hurricanes would not go quietly, storming back to retake the lead on two free throws by Rice at the 2:55 mark, a lead the home team would hold onto until the final seconds of regulation, when Cook nailed a 10-foot jumper to tie the game at 63 with 30.6 seconds remaining.
Leroy Hurd’s attempt to win the game in regulation missed the mark, as did Anthony Glover’s desperation three at the buzzer.
The Red Storm appeared to lock up the game in the first overtime, scoring the first four points of the period to take a 67-63 lead with 3:35 remaining on two free throws by Kyle Cuffe. But once again Miami responded. A three by Marcus Barnes, two free throws by Joe Gordon and one by Hurd tied the game at 69.
Cook’s attempt to win the game in the final seconds was no good, forcing yet another overtime.
This time Miami took the early advantage when Johnny Salmons converted the old-fashioned three-point play and — following a basket by Alpha Bangura — Jones connected on a short jumper to make the score 74-71.
And that’s when Cook stepped to the fore.
After missing his seventh three-point attempt of the game, Cook, visibly tired, got the ball again outside the arc and launched an NBA-three that found nothing but net to tie the game at 74. After a Miami miss, Cook gave the ball to Sharif Fordham, electing to stay out of the mix, letting his teammates run the show while standing stock still above the arc.
But the ball came to him anyway and again he launched a long-distance three, again finding nothing but net to give his team a 77-74 lead with 2:12 remaining.
“I don’t know where he got the strength to make those threes,” Jarvis said.
Energized by his own baskets, Cook sprang to life on the ensuing inbound play, stealing the ball and dishing to a wide open Jessie, who converted the lay-up to make it a five-point game. A bucket by Cuffe and four made free throws by Jessie sealed the much-needed win for St. John’s.
“You’ve got to give them credit,” Miami coach Perry Clark said. “They gutted it out.”
Unlike the team’s last couple of games, St. John’s did not allow Miami to open up a big lead to start the game, but instead battled on even terms with the Hurricanes for most of the first half. The Red Storm grabbed its first lead of the game with 6:11 remaining in the half on two free throws by Cuffe to make the score 16-14. Miami would not lead again until the second half.
The game was slowed by 62 fouls and more than 80 free throws combined by the two teams and seemed ready to boil over at any moment. Two technical fouls were assessed to Miami, one on Clark and the other on Barnes for shoving Fordham to the ground in the second half, but the most brutal blow was reserved for Cook.
Battling for a rebound with St. John’s up 32-28 at 18:41 remaining in regulation. Cook leaned in on Rice, who swung his elbows, clipping Cook on the left side of his face. The blow dropped Cook to the hardwood, where he lay bleeding for several minutes before being led off the court and back to the locker room.
Without their floor general, the Red Storm began to fall apart. Miami quickly took advantage, retaking the lead on a Salmons three at 17:19. The Hurricanes led by as much as seven down the stretch before Cook settled the Storm, not allowing Miami to run away with the win in the second half, as many St. John’s opponents have been able to do of late.
Then came the first overtime and then the second. And finally the sight of Cook, hunched over clutching the ball.
“I was happy that we won this game considering all the circumstances we went through tonight,” Cook said. “And I was tired.”
Cook finished with 21 points and 12 assists. Willie Shaw, who fouled out with 5:36 remaining in regulation, added 17 points, Cuffe had 16 and Jessie added 14. Rice led Miami with 21, followed by Salmons with 16, Jones with 14 and Hurd with 11.
Next up for St. John’s, following a date Wednesday with Providence, are the Duke Blue Devils, Sunday, Feb. 18. The game will be played at Madison Square Garden at noon.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
