St. John's University Athletics
Cook Three-Pointer Lifts St. Johns Past BC, 73-71
1/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
I see a pattern here and that is that the games are close, St. Johns Head Coach Mike Jarvis said afterward. We played a very good team tonight. This is a game and a victory that is deserved by our kids. I am hoping before it is all over, things will really even out, and there will be another victory or two like this waiting for us.
Cooks three-pointer, from NBA range just to the left of the key, gave the Red Storm (8-6, 2-1 BIG EAST) a 72-69 lead and broke the 14th tie in the game between the teams. After his shot, BC guard Troy Bell tipped in a miss and the Eagles fouled Cook with 17.8 seconds left. The freshman hit one of two shots and sophomore guard Alpha Bangura (Lanham, Md./Roosevelt/Monmouth) forced a turnover from BC guard Kenny Harley, sealing the win.
I was just trying to get to the basket a lot tonight, Cook said. Maybe I was getting hit, maybe I wasnt, but I figured I would stop and shoot before the defense got to me. I was hoping I could get a basket and it just went in.
The game was tight through, with seven ties and five lead changes in the first half. A hook shot by freshman forward Kyle Cuffe (Bronx, N.Y./Rice) gave St. Johns its biggest lead of the half, 35-31, but a jumper by bell with two seconds left cut the margin to two points, 35-33, at the break.
In the second half, the Red Storm maintained the lead and took their biggest lead of the game, 53-48, on a layup by junior forward Anthony Glover (Bronx, N.Y./Rice) with 10:16 to play. The Eagles raced back and took a 58-56 lead on a pair of Kenny Harley free throws with 7:53 left. BC increased its lead to four points, 65-61, with 5:22 left after a Harley free throw, but SJU fought back and tied the game at 65-all on a pair of free throws by senior forward Reggie Jessie (Queensbridge, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) with 3:53 left.
A Glover baseline jumper gave St. Johns a 67-65 lead, but Bell was fouled taking a three with 2:52 left. He hit two of three to tie the game. SJU had taken a 69-67 lead at the 1:01 mark, but Ryan Sidney hit two free throws to tie the game again, setting up Cooks heroics.
Cook scored a team-high 19 points and handed out 13 assists, his sixth game this season with at least 10, to lead St. Johns, while freshman guard Willie Shaw (Bronx, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) had his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Bangura finished with 14 points and a season-high eight rebounds, while Glover added 14 points and four rebounds. Jessie chipped in with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
St. Johns plays next on Sunday, January 14 at Rutgers. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. and will be seen on WWOR-TV.
