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BOX SCORE
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Three games ago, freshman Samuel Dalembert gave Seton Hall an inside presence in a win over
Georgetown. Last time out, the Pirates were deadly from the outside
as they made 13 3-pointers in a victory at Pittsburgh.
On Tuesday night, Seton Hall found the inside-outside
combination in the same game and it meant a 78-70 victory over St. John's (No. 23 ESPN/USA Today, No. 19 AP), snapping the Red Storm's six-game winning streak.
|  | | Seton Hall's Gary Saunders puts up a shot over St. John's Lavor Postell, left, and Anthony Glover. |
"A huge win for us. A great team win," Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker said. "We still have a way to go but this win gives us some confidence. It shows we can go toe-to-toe and beat one of the best teams in the country."
The Pirates (12-3, 4-1 Big East) went 10-for-21 from 3-point
range and Dalembert set a school record with 11 blocked shots as
they won for the ninth time in 10 games. No win was as big as this
one over a team that had just moved into the Top 25 after beating
then-No. 5 Connecticut on the road Sunday.
"When we saw the tape of them against UConn we said, 'Why not?' " said Dalembert, who also had eight points and eight
rebounds. "We prepared for them, we gave everything. I've been
very quiet lately and tonight I decided to show my presence. There
was no fear. We were anxious, impatient. We wanted to play them."
It looked that way right away.
The zone defense that gave Connecticut so much trouble over the weekend didn't bother the Pirates as Rimas Kaukenas went 4-for-7 from 3-point range and Darius Lane was 3-for-9.
Then there was Dalembert, who had tied the school record of nine blocks earlier this season against Georgetown. He went two better than that against St. John's (12-3, 4-1) and was one off the Big
East record set on Jan. 23, 1989, by Dikembe Mutombo of Georgetown against St. John's.
"Dalembert was a force. We needed him to step forward," Amaker said. "His energy, passion and ability changed the game."
Seton Hall used a 19-4 run to take a 35-22 lead with 1:45 left
in the first half and was up 35-26 at halftime.
St. John's got within 46-41 with 12:08 left on two free throws by Reggie Jessie but the Pirates responded with a 15-2 run that
made it 61-43 with 7:28 to play.
St. John's had just one field goal over a 7:55 span and that bad stretch ended with Anthony Glover scoring on a loose rebound.
Dalembert, who finished with eight points, then scored on a
monster dunk off a feed from Shaheen Holloway that made it 65-46
with 6:34 to go. That was Seton Hall's last field goal of the game
as the Pirates went 13-for-18 from the free throw line the rest of
the way. St. John's got no closer than six points, that on a
3-pointer by Lavor Postell with 7.2 seconds left.
"It was disappointing we didn't take advantage of getting close in the second half as we have time and time again this season,"
St. John's coach Mike Jarvis said. "We have shown real character
in those situations so many other times. It is part of the learning
and growing experience.
"They did a very good job early in the game in terms of taking us out of things we wanted to do. Samuel did a great job of
blocking a whole lot of shots."
Kaukenas had 16 points for Seton Hall, while Lane had 14 and Gary Saunders and Holloway 12 each.
"We felt this game could be the turning point of our season,"
Holloway said. "Everybody played well and Sam was a monster
inside."
Erick Barkley had 18 points for St. John's, which shot 38
percent (26-for-68) and committed 18 turnovers, six over its season
average. Glover had 16 points for the Red Storm and Chudney Gray
added 15 and Bootsy Thornton 12.
Lavor Postell was held to a season-low five points on 2-for-10 shooting, just the third game this season he didn't reach double
figures.
"It wasn't a matter of us taking them lightly. We just stunk
out the place, we played like garbage," Postell said. "We just
have to put this behind us and get ready for Ohio State."
Seton Hall's next game is Saturday at fifth-ranked and unbeaten Syracuse, while St. John's plays No. 15 Ohio State at Madison Square Garden the same day.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
St Johns Clubhouse
Seton Hall Clubhouse
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