For a bit more than 17 minutes, Fordham had yesterday afternoon's game against St. John's right where they wanted it. Not only were they ahead 26-24 but the game was being played at a pace and score that they were more comfortable with. Even though St. John's dominated the offensive glass, and even though the Rams did not make a lot of shots, three point shooting especially by former Loughlin guard Brandon Frazier helped Fordham balance the game and maintain a slight advantage.
One possible answer St. John's would not have in this game was the ability to go to the bench. That option, as has been well documented was limited even before the season began when NCAA's academic clearing house ruled three talented recruits ineligible. It was diminished further this past week when Nurideen Lindsey made a sudden decision to leave St. John's, and then cut further by a decision to bench Malik Stith for the first half of the game because of what was termed a "minor violation of team rules concerning academics".
Luckily the Red Storm found answers from within the iron five that played the entire first half. In the final 2:46 St. John's went on a 11-0 run to turn that two point deficit into a 9 point advantage. St. John's would pick up right where they left off after halftime adding 7 points to that margin before a Chris Gaston jumper mercifully broke the string for the Rams.
The rally that closed the first half began with two free throws from D'Angelo Harrison and included two baskets one a triple by Moe Harkless But the key to the rally was two great energy plays by Sir"Dominic Pointer, who on consecutive plays blocked a shot that provided the possession that led to Harkless' trey, and followed that with a steal and assist to God'sgift Achiuwa for a slam. Harrison and guard Phil Greene provided the second half spark and seemingly put St. John's in command 42-26 with just a shade under 17 minutes left and they maintained a double digit margin until 7:37 left when a trey by former Bronx JFK standout Jeff Short connected on a trey to cut the deficit to 8 points. As Fordham slowly chipped away at the margin with scoring primarily from Gaston and Frazier, St. John's hurt themselves with what may have been an attempt to save energy given their short bench. While they did not turn the ball over much during that stretch they did try and take time off the clock and while doing so, did not get good looks at the basket. A dunk Kervin Bristol off a pretty assist by Fatty McMillan cut St. John's lead to 53-50 with 1:55 left. St. John's did not score on the ensuing possession but with a chance to tie the game Fordham's youth betrayed them as former Midwood standout Brian Smith shot a quick three that missed and when Gaston tried a two-pointer following a McMillan offensive board St. John's finally secured the win with a free throw from Phil Greene and two more by Sir"Dominic Pointer.
Almost despite having four players go the entire 40 minutes the Johnnies won the game thanks in large part to their good work in what are often referred to as "hustle stats" they had 19 offensive rebounds and scored 13 second chance points. The Johnnies also outscored the Rams 22-10 in the paint. Moe Harkless led the way for St. John's with 13 points and 10 caroms for his third straight double double. Harrison scored a team high 15 points for the Johnnies while Achiuwa added 10. Brandon Frazier had a game high 17 points for Fordham while Gaston added a double double of his own with 11 points and 14 boards. In the opener of the Holiday Festival double header Rutgers knocked off Stony Brook 67-58 behind 22 points from Myles Mack. Former Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn) High standout Dave Coley paced Stony Brook with 17 points. For the first time ever the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden was a one day event rather than the tournament it has been in the past.
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