St. John's University Athletics
Syracuse Edges Past St. John's, 66-60
2/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Orangemen (18-4, 9-3 Big East) went 6-for-7 from the free throw line over the final 35 seconds to win their 17th consecutive home game. Their 15-0 home start this season is their best ever in the Carrier Dome.
Senior guard Marcus Hatten (Baltimore, Md.) had 22 points and a school-record 10 steals for St. John's (12-10, 5-7), which set a Big East record, along with a school mark, with 41 three-point attempts. The Red Storm connected on only nine shots from long distance, however, as they lost for the fourth time in five games.
Kueth Duany added 17 points for Syracuse, including six of the Orangemen's final eight points.
Syracuse had a season-high 26 turnovers. On Saturday, the Orangemen had a season-low four turnovers in their victory over then-No. 10 Notre Dame.
The Orangemen led 42-32 with 13:59 to play but went cold over the next 5 1/2 minutes as St. John's scored 13 straight points to take a 45-42 lead.
Anthony broke the drought with a 17-footer with 8:26 to go. The basket came in the middle of 10 straight points by Anthony, who also had 13 rebounds.
The teams traded the lead down the stretch until Hakim Warrick gave the Orangemen the lead for good, 56-54, with two free throws with 2:46 to play.
Hatten shot just 9-of-25 from the field, including 2-of-11 from 3-point range. Freshman guard Elijah Ingram (East Orange, N.J.), who came into the game among the conference leaders in 3-point shooting at nearly 40 percent, was just 2-of-20 from behind the arc.
Junior guard Willie Shaw (Bronx, N.Y.) added 12 points for St. John's, which stayed in the game with 25 offensive rebounds.
Neither team could get its offense in rhythm in the first half, which ended with the Orangemen ahead 33-27 despite committing 14 turnovers. The Red Storm committed 12 turnovers and shot just 30 percent from the field.
St. John's returns to action on Saturday, traveling to UConn. Tipoff for the game, which will be seen nationally on CBS, is slated for 2 p.m. The game can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.
