Cincinnati routs shorthanded Red Storm
Phil Greene of St. John's is guarded tightly by Dion Dixon of Cincinnati in the first half. (Feb. 8, 2012) Credit: Errol Anderson
St. John's incredible shrinking roster was reduced to six regular rotation players after Malik Stith, the only returning veteran from last season's NCAA team, quit the team Tuesday, citing personal reasons. Stith was the seventh man in the rotation, but the psychological impact of his loss seemed to go far beyond his impact on the box score.
St. John's top three scorers, D'Angelo Harrison, Moe Harkless and Phil Greene, shot a combined 2-for-16 and scored four points in the first half, and it only got worse as Cincinnati blew them out, 76-54, Wednesday night at the Garden. The Bearcats outrebounded St. John's by 20 and outscored it in the paint 40-18.
Only Harrison scored in double figures for the Red Storm (10-14, 4-8 Big East) with 15 points, but he shot 4-for-13. Greene scored eight, and Harkless was held to six as the Storm shot 32.8 percent. Cincinnati (17-7, 7-4) was led by Sean Kilpatrick and Yancy Gates with 14 each and got 12 points and 10 rebounds from Kashmere Wright.
St. John's issued a release before the game that quoted Stith as saying, "Right now I feel I need to do what is best for my family.''
The junior said he plans to pursue his degree and is interested in contributing to the team as a student. Stith made the decision after playing only six minutes in Saturday's 25-point loss to No. 2 Syracuse, marking his fourth game in single-digit minutes.
Harrison said, "He was one of the leaders on the team, but other players have to step up.''
Harkless added, "That's our brother, and to lose him is tough. We've got to stick together.'' Although Harkless said he had spoken to Stith, he could not discuss his reasons for leaving the team.
After trailing 30-19 at halftime, Harkless opened the second half with a dunk, and Harrison's three cut the deficit to eight. But the Bearcats went on a 12-3 run ending with 10 straight points from Kilpatrick, and the game effectively was over. The lead grew to a high of 27.
Asked if Big East teams naturally aim to exploit St. John's lack of depth, Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said, "Absolutely. They're shorthanded, and they're playing all first-year players. You're talking to a guy who had to rebuild the Titanic. It's not a good feeling.
" . . . To me, any win they get in the Big East is gravy this year. You can't play all first-year players. It's unrealistic.''
St. John's assistant Mike Dunlap, who continues to run the team in the absence of Steve Lavin, who is recovering from prostate cancer surgery, said his team understands the situation very well but must persevere.
"Malik will always be part of the family, but he made a choice,'' Dunlap said. "We'll be back at the grind tomorrow and fix things. I look forward to it. We've got to go forward with what we have.''
Looking out across the solemn faces confronting him, Dunlap added, "We really look forward to working on the team. I'm very enthusiastic about what we have and where we're headed.''
