St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Seton Hall
St. John's Edged By Seton Hall, 57-55
2/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2005
By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - J.R. Morris hit a short go-ahead jumper with 1:12 to play and Seton Hall benefited from some late free-throw problems by St. John's in posting a 57-55 victory on Saturday, sending the Red Storm to their 19th straight road loss.
Kelly Whitney and John Allen had 11 points apiece and Morris added 10 as Seton Hall (11-10, 3-7 Big East) snapped a three-game losing streak and swept both games this season from St. John's (8-13, 2-9).
Daryll Hill had 19 points and Phil Missere added a season-high 10 points for the Red Storm, who were hurt by the free throw shooting of Dexter Gray down the stretch.
Gray had a chance to put St. John's ahead with 1:43 to play, but he missed the second of two free throws, leaving the game tied at 54.
After Morris gave Seton Hall a 56-54 lead putting in the rebound of a missed 3-pointer by Donald Copeland, Hill missed a layup attempt with about 35.4 seconds to play.
There was tie-up on the rebound and Seton Hall got the ball. However, Morris, who was dropped from the starting lineup along with Whitney and Justin Cerasoli, could not handle an inbounds pass from Allen and turned the ball over.
Gray, a 75 percent free throw shooter, eventually was fouled on a shot underneath with 6.4 seconds to play. However, he missed the first free throw and made the second, cutting the lead to 56-55.
Jamar Nutter was fouled on the inbounds pass and made 1-of-2 free throws with :04 to play. St. John's, which had no time outs, got the rebound of the second shot and rushed the ball up court. Engene Lawrence was near the St. John's bench with the ball, but he passed it to Ryan Williams, who could not get a shot off before the final buzzer.
There were eight lead changes and eight ties in the second half, when neither team led by more than four points.
The last time St. John's won a road game was on Nov. 29, 2003 at Stony Brook. The Red Storm lost their final 10 road games last season and all nine this year.
Despite being called for 14 fouls and having Gray and Lamont Hamilton play for a combined eight minutes, St. John's used an early 11-2 spurt to take a 28-26 at the half.
Seton Hall missed its first nine shots from the field and the front-end of three one-and-one free throw chances in helping the Red Storm. The Pirates didn't get their first basket until Morris hit a 3-pointer with 10:58 to play.
