Published: February 04, 2007
CINCINNATI (AP)
Qa'rraan Calhoun scored 18 points, and St. John's got its first
Big East road victory Sunday, beating Cincinnati 73-64 despite a
front-line injury and sloppy ball handling.
St. John's (13-10, 4-6) led the entire game and finished it off
behind forward Anthony Mason Jr., who left the game with a
dislocated finger early in the second half. He returned with his
fingers heavily taped, and winced after making a 3-pointer and a
clinching layup in the closing minutes.
Cincinnati (10-12, 1-7) remains at the bottom of the 16-team
conference, stuck in its deepest rut in 19 years. The Bearcats have
lost nine of their last 10.
The game matched two of the conference's lowest-scoring teams -
Cincinnati averaging 65.6 points, St. John's only 63.5 points. The
Red Storm was coming off its worst back-to-back performances,
scoring only 46 and 48 points in losses to Pittsburgh and
Georgetown.
In this one, St. John's had trouble holding onto the ball and
Cincinnati had trouble shooting it. The Red Storm had 21 turnovers.
Cincinnati shot only 33 percent from the field and was 16-of-27 on
free throws.
St. John's got the better of it from the outset, taking
advantage of Cincinnati's defensive lapses. Calhoun had a
three-point play, Avery Patterson hit an unguarded 3-pointer off a
fastbreak, and Mason had an alley-oop dunk for an 8-0 lead.
The Red Storm stretched the lead to 30-17 on Hamilton's
three-point play and his two free throws with 2:47 left in the
half. St. John's had five turnovers in the closing minutes of the
half, allowing Cincinnati to cut it to 30-24 at the break.
The Bearcats scored almost exclusively off 3-pointers or drives
to the basket by their guards in the half. Forward John Williamson,
their top front-line scoring threat, went to the bench with three
fouls and no points with 8:07 left in the half.
Williamson went 0-for-12 from the field in his previous two
games, managing only three free throws. The lack of an inside
scoring threat has been the Bearcats' biggest shortcoming.
Williamson ended the slump with a dunk and a 17-foot jumper to
open the second half, cutting the lead to 31-28. Patterson then hit
back-to-back 3s to blunt the comeback, and the Red Storm led by at
least five points the rest of the way.
Mason, the Red Storm's second-leading rebounder, dislocated a
finger on his left hand while getting stripped of the ball early in
the second half. Mason, who is right-handed, went to the bench in
pain, then left the floor to get his middle and ring fingers taped
together. He returned midway through the half and helped St. John's
close it out.
Mason made a 3-pointer from the top of the key, then grabbed his
injured finger in pain, after the Bearcats got within 60-54. He
followed with a fastbreak layup and a pair of free throws that
rebuilt the lead to double-digits, wincing every time he shot.