St. John's University Athletics
St. Johns Outlasts Manhattan, 72-63
12/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. Johns trailed by six points, 49-43, with 12:02 left after Manhattan forward Durelle Brown hit a three-pointer, but scored eight straight points and took the lead for good, 51-49, on a dunk by freshman forward Kyle Cuffe (Bronx, N.Y./Rice) with 9:39 to play.
We won, and thats never to be taken lightly, St. Johns Head Coach Mike Jarvis said. In this topsy-turvy world of college basketball, especially when youre dealing with young men, winning usually brings on more winning, and losing brings on more losing.
Number one, its a victory. Number two, I thought we executed well when we had to down the stretch. And yet, I think we know we can execute better. I think some individuals made some very good adjustments, namely Anthony (Glover) in the second, and the guys hung together and won a basketball game which, in these days, especially for us right now, is not all that easy.
Manhattan led 38-32 after Brown scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the first half. The Jaspers and the Red Storm battled back and forth through most of the first 10 minutes, but the visitors broke a 22-all tie with a 12-5 run, highlighted by Brown scoring nine points, taking a 34-27 lead with 3:58 to play.
St. Johns tied the game at 38-all just over two minutes into the second half, but the Jaspers pulled away again, taking a 49-43 lead on Browns three-pointer with 12:02 to play. The Red Storm, however, scored six straight points and, after a Manhattan turnover, freshman guard Omar Cook (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) fed Cuffe on his dunk, giving SJU the lead for good.
Like Coach said, for me, its going to make Christmas much better, junior forward Anthony Glover (Bronx, N.Y./Rice) said. I dont think its a big relief because we all have to get back in the gym and work on the things we need to win other games.
Cook led St. Johns (5-5) with 22 points and eight assists, while classmate Willie Shaw (Bronx, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) added 19 points, three rebounds and two steals. Glover finished with nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds, tying a career-high.
St. Johns connected on 55.3 percent of its field goals (26-of-47), including 61.9 percent in the second half (13-of-21). Manhattan connected on 34.5 percent for the game (20-of-58), but only 23.1 percent in the second half (6-of-26).
The Red Storm play again on Saturday, December 30, hosting San Francisco at 2 p.m. at Alumni Hall.