HOLIDAY FESTIVAL
Manhattan 72
St. John’s 65
After Manhattan took on and beat all local challengers last season, Bobby Gonzalez declared his Jaspers the kings of the city. That statement has irked St. John’s coach Mike Jarvis and his players for a year.
Make it two years.
For the first time since 1955-56, Manhattan has beaten St. John’s in back-to-back seasons.
In a tenacious game that could have been played in The Cage or Rucker Park, Manhattan outwilled St. John’s 72-65 in the second game of the MSG Holiday Festival. The Jaspers (6-3) will have a chance to defend their tournament title when they meet Iona today in a surprising all-MAAC championship game.
“I think that’s terrific for our league,” said Gonzalez. “It says something about the great traditions at Manhattan and Iona. They deserve to be in the Garden for the Holiday Festival.”
The Gaels stunned North Carolina 65-56 in the first game, making the consolation game a Big East-ACC showdown.
“Folks may get to see what they wanted [tonight] except it’s the wrong game,” said Jarvis.
No, it’s the right game. Iona and Manhattan are in the championship game because when the ball goes up, pedigree goes out the window.
“When New York kids play at the Garden, you have to respect the team,” said Gonzalez.
St. John’s (5-2) has lost two straight and both losses can be hung on the same flaws. Once again, the Red Storm failed to convert free throws. They missed 10 in an 84-72 loss at Wake Forest last Saturday and eight last night.
Trailing 51-48, St. John’s missed the front end of one-and-ones on consecutive possessions. Manhattan scored both times. Then freshman Kenny Minor stripped Andre Stanley and went in for a layup that gave Manhattan a 59-48 lead.
It was the first double-digit lead of the game for either team and St. John’s could not respond. The Red Storm never stopped the Jaspers, who shot 50 percent in the first half, 56.5 percent in the second and 53 percent for the game.
“I think we willed the game,” said Gonzalez. “We were iron-willed tonight.”
Why the Red Storm wasn’t equally as determined is unsettling. After last year’s humiliating 85-68 loss to the Jaspers, the Red Storm should have been ready to go 40 minutes of high-octane energy.
“The whole game you could see they wanted it more,” said St. John’s forward Anthony Glover.
St. John’s star Marcus Hatten, who scored a career-low six points against the Jaspers last season, once again struggled. He finished with 11 points, four in the final minute.
“The emotion wasn’t there,” said Hatten. “I was just going through the motions.”
Manhattan wasn’t. The Jaspers fell behind 6-0, but Gonzalez immediately burned a timeout and his team responded with a 17-3 run. St. John’s tied the score at 23-23 and it was tied 44-44 in the second half. But the Red Storm never took another lead.
Manhattan now has beaten Fordham (85-57), Hofstra (93-75) and St. John’s this season. The first meeting with Iona is today, followed by at least two more league games.
At a Metropolitan College Basketball Writers’ Luncheon last season, Jarvis half-jokingly warned Gonzalez that the king gets beheaded. Someone other than St. John’s will have to wield the sword.
“I have nothing to say about that,” said St. John’s center Kyle Cuffe. “They just definitely outplayed us. They deserved it. If we had come back and actually won because we have a little more talent, we wouldn’t have deserved it.”