Lavin tossed as Storm falls to Seton Hall
Seton Hall's Herb Pope (15), Patrik Auda, second from left, of the Czech Republic, and Fuquan Edwin, right, grab for the ball as St. John's Justin Burrell (24) tries to hold on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game. (March 3, 2011) Credit: AP
NEWARK - St. John's recent magic was good enough to knock off six nationally ranked teams, but it didn't travel well across the Hudson to the Prudential Center, where lowly Seton Hall won the neighborhood rivalry, 84-70, Thursday night.
Red Storm coach Steve Lavin was ejected from the game with 1:55 to play. Justin Burrell also was kicked out for a flagrant foul with 7.6 seconds left.
Their frustration stemmed from the end of a six-game winning streak and most likely the chance at a double bye in next week's Big East Tournament. The Red Storm (19-10, 11-6) is tied with Syracuse for fourth, but it's not likely the Orange will lose at home to 1-16 DePaul Saturday, and Syracuse holds the tiebreaker advantage over St. John's, which finishes at home Saturday against South Florida.
The Pirates (12-17, 6-11) finished the game with a 14-4 run. Just after Seton Hall took a 77-68 lead, Lavin rushed onto the court to challenge the officials after Dwight Hardy drew contact in the lane but no whistle.
Lavin said after the game that he apologized to the team for his behavior. "I was probably too animated in my on-court demeanor," he said. "I'm not proud of my conduct."
Referee John Cahill explained the ejection to a pool reporter, saying, "He came out onto the court in an unsportsmanlike manner, which got him the first technical foul, and then he continued to carry on in a manner that was unsportsmanlike and was assessed the [second] technical foul.''
In reality, St. John's walked into a perfect ambush situation. The Storm had won eight of its previous nine games and risen to No. 15 in the country. But the last time St. John's won at Seton Hall was in 1998, and the Pirates were looking for some solace at the end of a tough season.
They found it at the three-point line, where they buried 12 of 18 shots thanks to the hot hands of Jeremy Hazell (31 points), who was 4-for-6, and Fuquan Edwin (19 points), who was 5-for-6. Jordan Theodore added 14 for the Pirates, who shot 64.3 percent from the field. Hardy had 23 points, Justin Brownlee 12 and D.J. Kennedy 11 for the Storm, which shot 40.4 percent.
Seton Hall was clinging to a 67-66 lead when Edwin hit back-to-back threes to trigger the 14-4 run. "At the end, they made 12 of 18 three-pointers," Lavin said. "That's as remarkable as any performance I've seen. I tip my hat to them . . . They took us to the woodshed and really waxed us."
Early in the second half, the game turned into a mano-a-mano between Hazell and Hardy. Brownlee's four-point play gave St. John's its last lead at 53-49. Then Seton Hall heated up again from three-point range.
The game got chippy after Lavin's ejection. Burrell delivered a hard foul after a teammate was flung to the floor earlier while fighting for a rebound. "That's New York and New Jersey," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. "I cross that bridge every day. Do that, and you'll get a little chippy."
Lavin told his players to use the experience as a valuable lesson for what lies ahead in the postseason. "This is the first time in eight or 10 years we've been the hunted," Lavin said. "It's a new role for us. It's a great wake-up call, like getting punched in the mouth."
