St. John's University Athletics
Miami Ends SJUs Three-Game Win Streak, 79-56
2/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. Johns had a three-game win streak ended with the loss, falling to 16-8 overall and 6-6 in the BIG EAST. It was the Red Storms second loss to a top-25 team this season. They are 3-2 against nationally-ranked opponents this season, with wins over Wake Forest, Miami and Boston College.
Typical for a St. Johns-Miami game the average margin of victory in the last 12 games was under five points the game was back-and-forth at the start. The Red Storm held a 7-6 lead with 12:57 left in the first half after a jumper by senior forward Anthony Glover (Bronx, N.Y.). Miami, however, outscored St. Johns 29-7 over the remainder of the first frame and led, 36-14, at the half.
St. Johns appeared ready to make a game of it in the second half, outscoring Miami 23-12 over the first 9:31, and cutting the margin to 11 points after a three-pointer from sophomore guard Willie Shaw (Bronx, N.Y.) and a free throw from junior guard Marcus Hatten (Baltimore, Md.). Miami responded with an 11-2 run and went up 59-39 on two free throws by John Salmons, who had 16 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and three steals.
"We were trying to cut it to 10," Jarvis said. "If we had, you never know."
The 14 points in the first half was the Red Storm's first-half low for the season as they were 4-for-27 from the field and committed 11 turnovers. They finished the game shooting 29.8 percent from the field (17-of-57), a season low, with 19 turnovers.
"One team showed up in the first half and it wasn't St. John's," Red Storm coach Mike Jarvis said. "No way you can get down 20-something points at half against a team like Miami."
Elton Tyler scored a game-high 21 points as Miami (21-4, 8-4) pulled within one-half game of Connecticut for first place in the conference's East Division. Tyler, who scored 15 points in the second half, was 10-for-13 from the field for the Hurricanes.
Senior center Donald Emanuel (Houston, Texas) led St. John's with 10 points. Hatten, who entered the game averaging 22.4 points in the conference, was held to eight points on 2-for-12 shooting. It was only the fourth game all season that Hatten had not reached double figures.
St. John's came within two points of the lowest first-half point total ever in a Big East game. On Jan. 14, 1992, Miami trailed 14-12 at halftime before beating St. John's 45-42.
The Red Storm return home on Saturday, playing Virginia Tech in a BIG EAST game at 4 p.m. at Alumni Hall.