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NEW YORK (AP) -- Omar Cook didn't take long to make his mark on
St. John's basketball.
|  | | Anthony Glover of St. John's fights off Kentucky's Marvin Stone. |
The freshman point guard lived up to the hype Thursday night as
the Red Storm beat No. 12 Kentucky 62-61 in the opening round of
the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
Cook had 18 points and five assists, with his biggest pass
setting up Anthony Glover for the winning three-point
play with five seconds left.
"Omar drew up the winning play," St. John's coach Mike Jarvis
said. "He saw something in the defense used by Kentucky on our
out-of-bounds plays. We ran it, he made the pass, Anthony made the
play and we'll all take the victory."
Cook had to step in and replace Erick Barkley, who left St.
John's after two seasons for the NBA. They both went to Christ The
King High School in New York City.
"I wouldn't say I was nervous. I waited a long time for this
game," Cook said. "I guess I was just anxious."
The Red Storm will play Kansas (No. 6 USA Today/ESPN, No. 7 AP), which beat UCLA (No. 19 USA Today/ESPN, No. 17 AP) 99-98, in Friday night's championship game.
Hitting a big free throw at Madison Square Garden to win a game
is nothing new for Glover. The junior forward made two free throws
with 2.6 seconds to play to give St. John's a one-point victory
over Miami in the Big East Conference tournament last March.
Cook inbounded the ball and got his fifth assist when he found
Glover down low. He laid it in and was fouled, and the free throw
gave St. John's its first lead since 21-19 with 5:50 left in the
first half.
"It's fitting that he came through again," Jarvis said of
Glover.
Neither team was able to generate much offense in the final
minutes. St. John's had three field goals in the final four minutes
-- all by Glover and two in the final 8.2 seconds -- and the Red
Storm were 9-for-20 from the free-throw line over the closing seven
minutes.
Kentucky, meanwhile, had one field goal in the final five
minutes and was 4-for-11 from the line over the last 7:13.
Glover, who finished with 21 points, and Reggie Jessie, who had
nine, accounted for 24 of St. John's last 29 points. They are the
only starters back from last season's team.
"Veterans are supposed to step and do what they have to do and
Glover did that," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. "We told our
guys to watch for the screens, deny the ball, make them throw it
over the top. The opposite happened."
Cook was the story for St. John's in the first half. He had 14
points, including four 3-pointers, in the opening 20 minutes as
Kentucky took a 31-28 lead.
"My teammates let me get comfortable," said Cook, who was
bothered by leg cramps in the second half. "I'm a little stiff
right now but I'll be able to play tomorrow."
Sophomore Marquis Estill, who didn't play last season, led
Kentucky with 15 points, while Marvin Stone and Keith Bogans had 14
each.
Stone made one of two free throws with 2:18 left to give the
Wildcats a 58-57 lead. His rebound of a missed 3-pointer by
Tayshaun Prince made it 60-57 with 1:35 to play.
Prince added a free throw with 22 seconds left for a 61-57 lead,
but Stone missed two free throws with 14 seconds left.
Glover dunked a rebound of a missed drive by Cook with 8.2
seconds left. Kentucky turned the ball over with 6.4 seconds to
play.
Cliff Hawkins took off with the ball on the final play, but when he
went to shoot from right near the 3-point line, he had the ball
knocked away.
"We had our chances to put the game away but we couldn't buy a
free throw down the stretch," Smith said. "The turnover and the
defensive breakdown cost us."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Kentucky NCAA Team Report
St Johns NCAA Team Report
Chat: NCAA Tourney
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Omar Cook fires the pass to Reggie Jessie on the break.
avi: 1130 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Saul Smith tosses the lob to Keith Bogans.
avi: 494 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jason Parker pins the Omar Cook shot to the glass.
avi: 872 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Omar Cook takes it to the rack.
avi: 704 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Mike Jarvis tries to find the words to explain Thursday's victory.
wav: 146 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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