St. John’s 65
Pitt 62
The Pittsburgh Panthers, loaded with players from The Bronx to Brooklyn, came to the Garden last night looking for some home cooking.
They head back to the Steel City eating crow.
This is not their town. The Garden is not their home court. And most of all, the Panthers no longer are a beast of the Big East.
St. John’s saw to that.
“Ever since Ron Artest and those guys left St. John’s, we’ve played in Big East title games and won regular-season games there,” said Pittsburgh’s Carl Krauser of The Bronx. “We own the Garden.”
Don’t tell that to the Red Storm.
“We own the Garden,” said guard Daryll Hill of Queens, who played a complete game with 26 points, five boards, three assists, two steals and one blocked shot. “It’s our house.”
The Red Storm, the unanimous pick in the coach’s preseason poll to finish dead last in the Big East, upset the Panthers 65-62 to claim their first league win of the year.
That leaves Providence, Seton Hall and Rutgers tied for last place in the Big East, not St. John’s (7-7 overall, 1-3 in the Big East).
“I think we’re doing more than that,” said guard Eugene Lawrence of Brooklyn when asked if St. John’s is exceeding people’s expectations.
“I don’t think people thought that we could compete with Pittsburgh or Notre Dame or West Virginia. By competing in those games and winning this one here, I think it sends a message to people out there and other Big East teams.”
St. John’s was coming off tough road losses at West Virginia (64-60) and Notre Dame (67-66) when Chris Thomas made a last-second 3 to save the Irish.
This time Pittsburgh’s Ronald Ramon of The Bronx launched a 3 from the right corner with seven seconds left and St. John’s leading 64-62.
“Please don’t go in,” said Lawrence.
“Not again,” said Dexter Gray, whose three-point play with 48 seconds left tied the score 62-62.
Ramon’s 3 hit the rim, not the bottom of the net. Gray grabbed the rebound and St. John’s started celebrating its first league win.
Any Big East win would have been rewarding for St. John’s, which went 1-15 in league play last season. But beating Pittsburgh, which clocked St. John’s 71-51 prior to the notorious sexcapades scandal, holds special meaning.
The Panthers (12-3, 2-2), ranked 18th by The Post, have six players on their roster from the metropolitan area.
Hill outplayed Krauser (22 points, eight turnovers).
“I came to play today,” said Hill. “I knew he’s a good player and I don’t like to be embarrassed.”
St. John’s center Lamont Hamilton of Brooklyn (18 points, seven rebounds) outplayed fellow Brooklynite Chris Taft (11 points, six boards).
“I want our guys to understand that this is our home court,” said Roberts. “The fans here are proud of you guys, what you’re doing what you’re accomplishing.
“They talk about how many good players have left the city and are somewhere else,” continued Roberts. “I remind our guys we’ve got good players on our team right here from the city. I’m happy to have the guys we got. I don’t have to worry about what other people have.”