St. John’s 55
Pittsburgh 50
Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, Dick McGuire and Lou Carnesecca sat several rows behind the St. John’s bench yesterday taking a wonderfully nostalgic trip back in time. On the Garden court were players wearing the jerseys Mullin, Jackson and others once donned when they gave everything – even blood – to uphold the honor of playing for the Catholic school in Queens that could.
“During one timeout I noticed Mark Jackson holding up his fist, telling us to stay strong,” said St. John’s wingman Ryan Williams. “You could feel their energy throughout the building. This is what St. John’s basketball used to be.”
And this is what St. John’s is becoming again after yesterday’s 55-50 win over No. 9 Pittsburgh.
For the first time since 2001, St. John’s has upset two Top 25 teams in a row. The Red Storm (10-6, 3-2 Big East) knocked the Panthers (15-1, 4-1) from the ranks of the undefeated with a tough and physical win yesterday, just four days after manhandling No. 17 Louisville.
“Can you believe it?!” exclaimed Carnesecca. “What a gritty performance. They gutted it out. I think the crowd saw how hard they were playing and responded. You could feel it. What a weekend. We’ll all remember this the rest of our lives.”
The victory culminated a wonderful celebration of basketball past and present. St. John’s held a dinner Friday night to recognize 10 Basketball Legacy Honorees, each of whom had a banner bearing his name raised to the façade of the upper level of the Garden for St. John’s home games.
Some of the honorees, such as Malik Sealy and Lloyd Dove, died before their time in car accidents. Others, such as Joe Lapchick and Tony Jackson, lived longer lives. Their spirit was among the 6,942 fans.
St. John’s opened a 31-19 halftime lead as the starting backcourt of New York natives Eugene Lawrence and Daryll Hill (11 points, five assists, two turnovers) outplayed Pittsburgh’s starting backcourt of New York natives Carl Krauser and Ronald Ramon (four points, one assist, seven turnovers).
“I didn’t recognize our team on how we played early,” said Pittsburgh coach Jaime Dixon.
But Pittsburgh didn’t open with 14 wins by being a pushover. The Panthers used a 12-0 run to take their first lead at 48-47 with 2:39 left. One free throw each from Lawrence and Aaron Spears grabbed the lead back.
In a scramble for a loose ball, Lawrence crashed face first to the court, splitting open his chin, his blood staining the hardwood with 1:23 left. Lawrence, who needed 10 stitches after the game, returned wearing a bandage in just 23 seconds.
“We are not just playing for ourselves,” said Hill. “St. John’s has that history and we are trying to bring it back.”
St. John’s coach Norm Roberts called timeout with 42 seconds left and ran ‘Quickie.’ Hill, looking much like Jackson, his idol, bounced a perfect entry pass to Lamont Hamilton (24 points), who put in a layup from the left side for a 51-48 lead.
When Pittsburgh closed to 51-50, Hamilton and Phil Missere did their best Mullin imitations, calmly swishing both ends of one-and-ones.
“It was a storybook ending,” said Mullin.
lenn.robbins@nypost.com
