College Basketball: St. John's downs Pitt
New York's Madison Square Garden has been a second home to St. John's basketball teams over the last eight decades.
New York's Madison Square Garden has been a second home to St. John's basketball teams over the last eight decades.
This current team has turned the building at 33d Street and Eighth Avenue into a house of horrors for highly ranked teams.
Their latest upset came when Dwight Hardy's underhanded flip with 1.2 seconds to play gave St. John's a heart-stopping, come-from-behind 60-59 victory over No. 4 Pittsburgh on Saturday. It was the Red Storm's fifth win over a highly ranked team this season - all at the Garden.
Hardy, who finished with 19 points, started near midcourt, drove to the right, then went baseline for the shot. It gave St. John's (17-9, 9-5 Big East) another marquee win to go with those against then-No. 13 Georgetown, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 3 Duke, and No. 10 Connecticut.
"I knew the ball was going to be in my hands during the time-out," Hardy said. "Once I couldn't make my initial move, I just had to go with my instincts, not think."
Ashton Gibbs had 26 points for the Panthers (24-3, 12-2).
Nebraska 70, Texas 67 - Brandon Richardson hit a pair of free throws with 7.2 seconds left, and the Cornhuskers (18-8, 6-6) beat a team ranked in the top three for the first time in 17 years with a win over the third-ranked Longhorns (23-1, 11-1) in Lincoln, Neb.
Nebraska hadn't beaten a team ranked in the top three since knocking off No. 3 Missouri, 98-91, in the 1994 Big Eight tournament.
Richardson led Nebraska with 15 points. Jordan Hamilton and J'Covan Brown each had 18 to top Texas.
Kansas 89, Colorado 63 - Markieff Morris (Penn Charter) had 26 points and 15 rebounds as the No. 1 Jayhawks (25-2, 10-2 Big 12) bounced back from Monday's lopsided loss to Kansas State with a victory over the Buffaloes (16-11, 5-7) in Lawrence, Kan.
Syracuse 84, Rutgers 80 - Kris Joseph scored six of his 21 points in overtime, and the No. 17 Orange (22-6, 9-6 Big East) made seven free throws in the final 63 seconds to escape an upset bid by Mike Coburn (18 points, six assists) and the Scarlet Knights (13-13, 4-10) in Syracuse, N.Y.
West Virginia 72, Notre Dame 58 - Truck Bryant had 24 points as the Mountaineers (17-9, 8-6 Big East) trounced Ben Hansbrough (19 points) and the No. 8 Irish (21-5, 10-4) in Morgantown, W.Va.
Xavier 79, Fordham 72 - Tu Holloway had 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists for the No. 24 Musketeers (20-6, 11-1 Atlantic 10) in a win over the Rams (6-18, 0-12) in Cincinnati.
In the nation
Malcolm Thomas had 20 points to lead sixth-ranked San Diego State (27-1, 12-1 Mountain West) to a 70-58 win over host Air Force (13-12, 4-8) in Colorado Springs, Colo. . . . Jimmer Fredette scored 23 points in 79-56 rout for No. 7 Brigham Young (25-2, 11-1 Mountain West) over Texas Christian (10-18, 1-12) in Fort Worth. . . . Chris Wright made six free throws in the final 29.7 seconds to finish with 26 points as ninth-ranked Georgetown (21-6, 10-5 Big East) took a 61-55 win over South Florida (8-20, 2-13) in Tampa. . . . Derrick Williams had 26 points, 13 rebounds and a block on Darnell Gant with less than a second left to lift No. 12 Arizona (23-4, 12-2 Pac-10) to an 87-86 win over Washington (18-8, 10-5) in Tucson.
John Jenkins scored 22 points and No. 18 Vanderbilt (20-6, 8-4 SEC) grabbed a 77-60 win over host Auburn (9-17, 2-10) in Alabama. . . . Tyler Zeller scored 16 points as No. 19 North Carolina (20-6, 10-2 ACC) eked out a 48-46 win over Boston College (16-10, 6-6) in Chapel Hill, N.C. . . . Marcus Denmon scored 25 points as No. 20 Missouri (21-6, 7-5 Big 12) won its first road game since December with a 76-70 win over Iowa State (14-13, 1-11) in Ames. . . . B.J. Holmes hit two key free throws in the final seconds as No. 21 Texas A&M (21-5, 8-4 Big 12) escaped with a 67-66 win over Oklahoma State (16-10, 4-8) in Stillwater, Okla. . . . Darius Miller scored a career-high 22 points, Terrence Jones added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 22 Kentucky (19-7, 7-5 SEC) delivered a 90-59 thumping on South Carolina (13-12, 4-7) in Lexington. . . . Tai Wesley and Brockeith Pane scored 22 points apiece to help No. 25 Utah State (25-3) to a 75-65 win over host St. Mary's (23-6) in Moraga, Calif.
In the region
Tim Smith (Cardinal Dougherty) scored 30 points as Holy Family (6-19, 4-11 CACC) snapped its four-game losing streak with a 87-81 win over Nyack (2-22, 0-16) in Northeat Philadelphia. The game was the first for Holy Family since first-year head coach John O'Connor was indefinitely suspended by the school Thursday, pending an investigation into allegations that he elbowed and backhanded a player during practice Jan. 25.
Elsewhere in the region: Sam Permutt had 17 points and 12 rebounds as host Haverford (10-15, 7-13 Centennial) pinned a 75-52 loss on Jay Kober (13 points) and Swarthmore (6-19, 3-15) at Gooding Arena. . . . Sharif Bray (Central) hit two free throws with three seconds left to give visiting Cheyney (16-8, 6-6 PSAC) an 83-81 victory over Bloomsburg (10-14, 6-6). . . . Immaculata's Rob Siter (Monsignor Bonner) had 20 points and Brandon Smith (Central) added 18, but the Mighty Macs (10-16, 8-10 CSAC) fell, 84-62, to Keystone (21-5, 13-5) in La Plume, Pa. . . . Jeremy Beckett had 18 points and 14 rebounds, while James Jones (Bok) and Jason Goldheimer each added 18 points to lift Delaware Valley (15-10, 9-5 Freedom) to a 66-60 win over Alex Nelson (15 points) and Eastern (12-12, 5-9) in St. Davids.
Sean Hughes' 24 points weren't enough as Rowan (12-14, 5-8) fell, 75-72, to New Jersey City (17-9, 8-5) in the first round of the NJAC tourney in Jersey City. . . . Tyrone Mann-Barnes (Collingswood) had 12 points, but host University of the Sciences (11-11, 6-9 CACC) lost, 84-64, to Bloomfield (17-8, 14-3) in Philadelphia. . . . Temi Adebayo had 10 points and three blocks, but Philadelphia University (14-10, 9-6 CACC) dropped a 69-44 decision to Post (14-10, 12-4).