St. John’s 66 – Stony Brook 57

The pressure was palpable.

A 14-point lead had been sliced to three and St. John’s was perilously close to losing its third straight and starting the 2004-05 season in a bunker of despair. It was time for Daryll Hill, the only established star on the roster, to make a play.

Hill saw Stony Brook’s Mitchell Beauford overplaying the set St. John’s had called. Showtime!

Hill made a breathtaking crossover dribble, scooped in a layup and drew the foul on Beauford. The three-point play pushed St. John’s to a 66-57 win in Carnesecca Arena.

“It felt good,” Hill said. “As soon as they called the ‘And one,’ everything was off our backs. All the pressure was on them.”

Stony Brook (2-2) did handle the pressure well, forcing up ill-advised 3’s (6-for-21) and St. John’s (2-2) avoided back-to-back home losses to St. Francis of Brooklyn from the Northeast Conference and Stony Brook of the America East.

The Seawolves, who won at Hofstra last season, desperately wanted to post a first win over St. John’s. But Rodney Epperson of Queens had a game-high 18 on 8-of-12 shooting and Hill had 17 points and seven assists.

“He made a big play,” Stony Brook coach Nick Macarchuk said. “When we got it to three, he got the, ‘And one.’ He played very under control tonight.”

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Forward Ryan Williams of Queens continued to be plagued by a sprained right ankle. Forward Tyler Jones is hampered by back spasms.

Center Mohamed Diakite had one rebound and one blocked shot in three minutes despite playing with a strained shoulder.