Hofstra 64
St. John’s 51
Those wins over Maryland Eastern-Shore, St. Francis of Brooklyn and Niagara were nothing but cosmetic.
Last night we saw what awaits St. John’s when the real games begin; when the Red Storm goes up against Big East teams and NCAA-caliber teams; when teams that don’t crumble when they lose one player, even a star player, are the opponent.
Hofstra isn’t anyone’s choice to make the Final Four, but it’s a true contender in the Colonial Athletic Association. It’s also the metropolitan-area team that owns St. John’s.
The Pride, trailing by as many as 15, rallied in Carnesecca Arena to win its third straight over the Red Storm, 64-51. St. John’s played without guard Daryll Hill, who bruised his left knee in Saturday’s win over Niagara, but using his absence would be a lame excuse.
“It shows us we’re one of the best teams in New York,” said Hofstra center Adrian Uter, a Queens native.
If the Red Storm was good enough to build a 40-25 lead without Hill, it should have been good enough to close the deal without the team’s leading scorer. After all, this was a Big East team at home (with conference officials) versus a CAA team that’s short on depth and has little experience after the starting five.
“I bet Duke really needs J.J. Redick,” said St. John’s coach Norm Roberts. “Daryll’s a big-time player for us. He does a lot for us on offense and is our gauge on defense. Not having him tonight hurt our team, but that had nothing to do with the ball game.”
What did in the Red Storm (3-1), and what will continue to haunt this team is its horrific lack of outside shooting. It entered the game as 39.7-percent shooters from the field and 25.6-percent shooters on 3’s.
Hofstra coach Tom Pecora can read a stat sheet as well as the next guy, so, for most of the game he played a zone so tight Paris Hilton could have hidden from photographers. The Red Storm did a good job of moving the ball from the high post, and it erased an 11-0 deficit by getting the ball to Lamont Hamilton (18 points, 11 rebounds) down low.
But the Pride (2-1) had played a Big East team earlier this season, losing 69-50 at Notre Dame. Hofstra wasn’t about to jump on the LIE and start back for East Hempstead. The Pride packed in its zone even tighter and dared St. John’s to shoot.
Clang! Clang! Clang! As the Red Storm missed 15 of 16 3-pointers in the second half, Hofstra closed with a 33-6 surge. With 2:45 left, Hill, on the bench in warm-ups, rose and studied what was unfolding on the court.
“I think we got frustrated,” said Roberts. “We got frustrated and the rim got even smaller for us.”
The whole team did.
