By Marc Raimondi
Meaning?Ryan Williams, a Queens native, might not get another chance to play at the World's Most Famous Arena.”Coach [Jose] Martin said, 'You gotta play all out tonight, this [could] be your last time playing in this arena,'” the Cardozo product said.Williams, responding, produced a momentum swinging play to end the first half and St. John's shut down Seton Hall after halftime for a 58-47 win Tuesday night.With 15 seconds left in the first half, Williams stole the ball from guard Donald Copeland, broke away from pursuing Pirates defenders and soared in for a tomahawk slam. It cut the lead 26-22 and set the tone for the second half.”It pumped us up,” Missere said of the play. “It gave us a little momentum going into halftime.”But the second half was where the Red Storm blew its last meeting against the Pirates Jan. 4. The Johnnies squandered a 20-point lead they held after the break to fall in overtime.Thing were different this time. After being down by as many as five after the half, freshman Ricky Torres banked in a runner from the left wing on a fast break with 8:50 left that gave the Red Storm a 39-37 lead, its first since the opening minutes. The Pirates, who were outrebounded, 48-31, wouldn't get the lead again.Lamont Hamilton (19 points, 15 rebounds) played perhaps his most balanced game of the season with two starters sitting out because of injury: Daryll Hill (left knee) and Anthony Mason Jr. (high left ankle sprain).The Pirates had three in double figures: Jamar Nutter (16), Donald Copeland (11) and Kelly Whitney (11).Seton Hall (16-9, 7-6), which had more turnovers (17) than field goals (16), shot just 28.1 percent from the field and only 20 percent in the second half.Good thing the St. John's (12-13, 5-9) defense was strong. The Johnnies shot only 33.3 percent for the game, but the win was good enough to shoot them up to 12th place in the Big East standings – the last spot to secure a tournament berth.”You can call it ugly,” St. John's coach Norm Roberts said. “I thought it was pretty as all…”The second-year coach trailed off, but he didn't need to finish his sentence to convey the feeling of relief. After a loss to DePaul Saturday, the Red Storm dropped to 14th in the Big East. Now, with one win in its last two games – at Villanova and against Rutgers at Carnesecca Arena – the Johnnies and Williams could make it back to Madison Square Garden.”In our locker room, we have a list of teams and standings,” Missere said. “We use it as motivation.”
