By Anthony Bosco
Marcus Hatten ran all the time off the clock he possibly could. The junior college transfer out of Tallahassee had Derrick Snowden draped all over him as he dribbled left then right and left again, draining precious seconds.
And then he came forward, rising near the foul line and shooting over Snowden’s outstretched arms. The ball completed its perfect arc through the nylon net with 8.4 seconds remaining in regulation.
Hatten’s shot had given St. John’s (13-5, 4-3) a 65-63 lead and eventual win over the Villanova Wildcats Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. It was the team’s second consecutive conference win in a game that featured as many twists and turns as the Red Storm have seen all season.
“Maybe it didn’t look like it, but I’m comfortable shooting off-balance,” said Hatten, who finished with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the floor. “I think it was my shot all the way. If they would have came and doubled I would have kicked it to the open man. But 99.9 percent I was going to shoot that.
“I just tried to use as much time as possible and not give them a chance to come back down, but as it so happens I hit the shot with eight seconds and that gave them enough time to score,” he added. “I’m glad they missed their shot.”
After a Villanova timeout, the Wildcats came down to try and hit the equalizer. Snowden, who finished with 14 points, beat Hatten to the lane and shot over senior forward Anthony Glover. The ball bounced off the front rim and kicked out to Villanova’s Reggie Bryant, who hoisted a three-pointer before time expired, but had it partially blocked by Sharif Fordham to secure the St. John’s win.
“Snow’s our quickest guy off the dribble,” said Villanova coach Jay Wright. “Snow did a good job. He made [Hatten] pull up, he went left and he hit that shot. We were as concerned [about] rebounding the miss. It was a matter of picking your poison there.
“They are outstanding perimeter defenders and it’s not just one guy,” Wright added of the St. John’s defense. “Sharif Fordham can do it, Shaw can do it, Hatten’s outstanding. You got to give [Hatten] credit. He made the plays at the end.”
The game was a microcosm of the Red Storm’s season so far. Steadily St. John’s opened up an 11-point lead, based largely on the defensive pressure of the team’s quick guards — Hatten, Shaw and Fordham — as well as the early offensive work of Hatten and Alpha Bangura, whose jumper with three minutes remaining in the first half made it 32-21.
But just as St. John’s looked well on its way to a comfortable win, the wheels came off the wagon and the hard-luck Wildcats began to play in earnest.
“I thought we just started playing harder and we defended and we were more aggressive offensively,” Wright said.
In the final three minutes of the first half Villanova chipped away at the lead, as Brooks Sales, Snowden and Gary Buchanan scored on an 8-0 run to end the half for the Wildcats, who trailed 32-29 at the break.
Villanova (10-5, 3-3) kept the momentum through the opening moments of the second half, as St. John’s did not score a field goal for nearly five full minutes. When the run was over it was Villanova that held an 11-point lead, capping a 25-3 run that spanned nearly 10 minutes and both halves.
“That’s what got us in trouble today, our defense more than anything else,” Jarvis said. “If we play great defense, teams ain’t scoring against us.”
Willie Shaw, who hit a clutch three-pointer in the second half and finished with 13 points, said the team collectively decided to get back into the game in the second half.
“I just knew it was time for us to step up,” said the sophomore out of Rice High School. “We just went out there and played defense like we could.”
Fordham, Hatten and Shaw contributed on both ends, but it was on the defensive half of the court that made the difference. Holding Villanova at bay, St. John’s slowly pecked away at the Wildcats’ advantage until Shaw’s three with 4:52 to play finally gave the Red Storm a 54-52 lead.
As the teams exchanged blows down the stretch, it was Hatten who landed the final shot, a pull-up jumper in the lane than knocked Villanova flat.
In addition to his 29 points, Hatten also had six assists, four steals and three rebounds. Kyle Cuffe had 11 points off the bench. Ricky Wright, Sales and Snowden all had 14 points for Villanova and Buchanan added 12.
St. John’s returns to New York Saturday for a date with the Providence College Friars at Madison Square Garden at 9 p.m.. The Friars defeated SJU 78-57 on Jan. 12. St. John’s will travel to New Jersey to take on Seton Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 7:30 p.m.
Connecticut 75, St. John's 70. Donald Emanuel and Hatten both scored 16 points and Glover added 10, but the Red Storm fell short against the Huskies Wednesday night in Storrs, Conn. It was the teams' first loss against a ranked opponent in four games this season. Connecticut, ranked No. 25, was led by Johnnie Selvie with 16 and Caron Butler with 13.
St. John’s 64, Boston College 57. The Red Storm knocked off the No. 22 ranked Eagles last Thursday, raising the team’s mark to 3-0 against ranked teams this season. Hatten led the way with 18 points, eight assist, five rebounds and four steals. Molloy grad Uka Agbai had 12 points for the Eagles in defeat.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
