Storm falls to undefeated Syracuse at MSG
St. John's Justin Burrell, center, protects the ball from Syracuse's Rick Jackson, right, and James Southerland during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game. (Jan. 12, 2011) Credit: AP
There is no doubt that the emphasis for St. John's is all on the new - new coach, new energy, new hope. But for most of the players on a senior-filled team, there still is the matter of settling old scores, expunging old demons and beating an age-old 2-3 zone.
So, despite an electric atmosphere at the Garden and a strong first 10 minutes on the court for St. John's, there really was nothing new in the Red Storm's 76-59 loss to Syracuse last night. "Syracuse," said Steve Lavin, the coach who has breathed new life into the venerable program, "clearly dominated the game."
His players found it all too familiar. They weren't around on Jan. 21, 2007, when Avery Patterson's four-point play helped St. John's secure its most recent win over the Orange. They don't know what it's like to hand a defeat to coach Jim Boeheim and his famed and fearsome 2-3 zone.
Nor do they know what it feels like to rid the Garden of that loud sing-song "Let's Go Orange!" chanting that was so prevalent in the second half last night, after plays such as the court-long touchdown pass to Kris Joseph (18 points) that made it 61-39, or the scoop move to the hoop by Scoop Jardine (14 points, six assists) or any of the jumpers by Brandon Triche (15 points).
By then, the unbeaten Orange (17-0, 4-0 in the Big East), ranked No. 4 in the country, had taken the electricity out of the Garden, at least for those in the crowd of 14,440 not wearing orange.
"It was a great atmosphere. We knew a lot of people were going to come out for Syracuse-St. John's. It's a rivalry," said D. J. Kennedy, whose four points for St. John's were well below his 11.6 average. "But we played the No. 4 team in the country. They aren't No. 4 for no reason."
St. John's (10-5, 3-2) had impressed Boeheim with the revived way it had played, especially in wins over West Virginia and Georgetown. And his team found the Storm's pressure daunting as St. John's broke out to a 14-7 lead. But for the most part, Syracuse's tried-and-true zone stifled the Storm inside and forced outside shots that didn't go in very often (21-for-57 from the floor, including 4-for-15 by normally steady Dwight Hardy).
"Of course it's frustrating, No one wants to miss shots, no one wants to get their shots blocked," said Justin Burrell, who had his share of the latter. "We're seniors. We're supposed to get through frustration. We're not supposed to let emotions affect us. But unfortunately, sometimes it does."
The problem is that the St. John's players have seen this too much. "We've just got to go back to the drawing board," Kennedy said. "Tomorrow is a new day in the Big East."
