Red Storm staggers into Big East quarters
Time appears to be left on the game clock as St. John's steps out of bounds late in the second half of their win over Rutgers. Credit: ESPN screengrab
Clearly, St. John's coach Steve Lavin needs to distribute copies of Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" to his players for the fourth time this season. Justin Brownlee needs to read the first line again:
If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you . . .
Come to think of it, Rutgers coach Mike Rice and Big East officials Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton could benefit from a reading of the Kipling classic. Because all of them and most of a Madison Square Garden crowd of 19,375 lost their minds in the confusion at the end of St. John's 65-63 victory Wednesday in the second round of the Big East Tournament.
With 4.9 seconds left, Rice had Robert Lumpkins throw a pass from under St. John's basket to Gilvydas Biruta at midcourt. St. John's Dwight Hardy and Justin Burrell knocked it away, and Brownlee grabbed the loose ball and -- as television replays showed -- ran three steps without dribbling on his way out of bounds with 1.7 seconds on the clock and heaved it high into the Garden stands, where it landed after the final horn.
Big East commissioner John Marinatto acknowledged in a statement that "two separate officiating errors occurred" on that play -- traveling and out of bounds. According to Marinatto, "Both violations should have caused the game clock to stop and a change of possession to occur before the end of the game. Neither error is reviewable or correctable under NCAA playing rules."
As the horn blew, Rice ran on the court yelling at Burr -- but not about the Brownlee play. Rice still was focused on Rutgers' previous possession.
Trailing 64-63, Mike Coburn drove around a high screen but was met by St. John's D.J. Kennedy, who blocked the shot. Rice felt Kennedy hit Coburn's arm, and that's what he was yelling and gesturing to Burr about. "I was a lunatic, to be honest with you, and I lost some self-control," Rice said.
Thinking of the time left on the clock, Rice added, "Had I known it was [1.7 seconds], I might have literally held on, done a Van Gundy and held one of their legs on the court.
"It was a mistake. The game should have been one more play. Does that mean we were going to win? Certainly not."
Considering the intensity with which St. John's (21-10) and Rutgers (15-17) went at it in the first 39 minutes, it's not surprising everything spun out of control. Rutgers smothered Hardy, who scored 17 points but shot 5-for-17, and forced the Red Storm to go inside to Brownlee (13 points), Sean Evans (13 points, nine rebounds) and Kennedy (11 points). The Storm held Rutgers to 36.1-percent shooting, led by 15 points from James Beatty.
Hardy and Evans each made a pair of foul shots for a 64-61 St. John's lead with 17.7 seconds left, but Lavin ordered Coburn fouled immediately to avoid a tying three-pointer. Coburn made both to cut the difference to one, and then Hardy lost the ball out of bounds to give the ball back to Rutgers with 13.4 seconds left. That set up the drive on which Rice thought Coburn was fouled.
Kennedy ultimately got to the line after the block and made one of two for the 65-63 lead before Rutgers inbounded and Brownlee came up with the ball, sending St. John's to a quarterfinal matchup with Syracuse at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Explaining his actions, a chagrined Brownlee said, "I just let my emotions get to me. I don't really know what I was thinking. I just had to do something, and I just threw it up. I just got to know next time not to let my emotions get to me and just hold on to the basketball. I've got to hear the horn before I do anything.
"I won't do it again."
