St. John's wins home debut for Lavin

For a few minutes in the first half of Steve Lavin's debut, the Carnesecca Arena crowd of 4,657 must have wondered if the opponent was dressed in Carolina blue instead of Columbia blue last night. The Lions came back from a 12-point deficit with the aid of five three-pointers from a freshman named Dyami Starks to take a four-point halftime lead.

Losing the season opener at St. Mary's, a Sweet 16 team last season, was understandable. But losing at home to an Ivy League opponent would have been a shocker considering all the fanfare surrounding the hiring of Lavin, who spent the past seven years since his firing at UCLA as a commentator for ESPN.

The newly recycled coach was spared that embarrassment when the Red Storm turned up the defensive pressure early in the second half and got a 10-point boost from his first St. John's recruit, Dwayne Polee II, to pull away to a 79-66 victory. In this case, the test was how well Lavin adjusted at halftime, and there was no arguing the merits of his work.

Lavin zeroed in on Columbia's stunning 26-17 halftime rebounding advantage and the marksmanship of Starks, who shot 5-for-8, all from three-point range. The second-half turnaround was remarkable. St. John's out-rebounded the Lions 24-14, and Starks couldn't even get off another shot.

"We tagged their shooters," said Lavin, naming Starks (15 points), Noruwa Agho (18 points) and Steve Frankoski (10 points). "We said, 'Let's make them drivers.' " He also told Polee to make sure he used his length under the boards whenever a shot went up. "I gave him the Woody Allen line," Lavin said. "Half the battle in life is showing up." The line actually is, "Ninety percent of life is showing up," but you get the point.

The Red Storm (1-1) came out pressing in the second half, and the result was an 8-0 burst for a 46-42 lead. D.J. Kennedy, who led St. John's with 18 points, had a three-point play to get the lead. Columbia came back to tie the score at 46, but a three-pointer by Polee triggered a 20-7 run that gave the Red Storm a 66-53 lead.

St. John's also got double-figure scoring from Justin Brownlee (15), Malik Stith (11) and Polee had a team-high nine rebounds to go with his 10 points. Paris Horne, a starter under Norm Roberts last season but a reserve this season, and Stith played key second-half roles. Lavin praised Horne (eight points) for his maturity, and he said Stith, who was solid after scoring 13 at St. Mary's, is the best example of how to adjust to the coaching change.

"Two weeks ago, he was 11th or 12th on the depth chart, and we jumped him up," Lavin said of the sophomore point guard. "Kids who perform well and have a good attitude get their fannies ripped less."

Afterward, Lavin planned to celebrate with his 80-year-old special assistant Gene Keady. Lavin said, "I told coach Keady I think I'm ready to have a Maker's Mark with him back at his hotel."

Notes & quotes: Lavin added his eighth letter of intent commitment from ESPN Top 100 prospect Amir Garrett, a Los Angeles native playing for Findlay Prep in Nevada. Garrett is a 6-6 small forward and the sixth ESPN Top 100 prospect signed by Lavin, whose incoming recruiting class currently is ranked No. 2 nationally by Rivals.com and No. 3 by ESPN.