Mon, Jan 31, 2005 page20

• Seton Hall gets tough on defense against St. John's

  • NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
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  Two teams struggled on offense and the game was played at a tedious, plodding pace. It was not a performance that could easily draw a positive critique, but each side attributed the result to excellent execution by Seton Hall's defense. And, if nothing else, the Pirates came away from the game with an improved record.

  Despite shooting 21.9 percent from the field in the second half, Seton Hall outlasted St. John's 62-55 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

  "It was probably one of the sloppier games to be found in the Big East," St. John's coach Norm Roberts said.

  No one disputed his description. The teams combined for 32 turnovers, 19 by St. John's and eight by the Red Storm's Eugene Lawrence, a freshman guard. St. John's (7-10, 1-6) shot just 33.3 percent in the game and 27.6 percent in the second half. The Red Storm missed 12 of 27 attempts from the free-throw line.

  The usually positive Roberts did not single out any players, but he made it clear that he was not pleased with his team's effort.

  The play of the sophomore guard Daryll Hill must have been especially irksome.

  Leading the conference with an average of 20.9 points a game, Hill made 3 of 15 field-goal attempts and scored a season-low six points.

  He had attempted 19 or more shots in five of his last six games, but Hill did not seem to be looking for his shot in the final 10 minutes against Seton Hall.

  "I didn't think I played with enough energy today," he said. "That's it, really."

  Seton Hall (10-7, 2-4 Big East) probably contributed to Hill's malaise. Coach Louis Orr emphasized to his players before the game that stopping Hill was critical, and the Pirates were successful at preventing him from consistently penetrating the lane.

  "You have to make Daryll Hill a priority," Orr said. "If you don't make him a priority, he will beat you. It's not about stopping him. That's not what we did. We just didn't want him to have his way in the lane. We didn't want him to get in there and make easy plays. He'll make his 3's, but he's particularly dangerous in the lane and in the open court."

  Leading by 27-25 with 2 minutes 41 seconds remaining in the first half, the Pirates took control with a 10-0 run, and they were ahead by 37-27 at halftime. The Red Storm opened the second half with an 8-0 run and later tied the score at 39-39 on a dunk by Dexter Gray with 14:18 remaining.

  on again, off again

  But St. John's offense went cold, managing just one field goal over a 10 1/2-minute stretch.

  Seton Hall, which was also sputtering on offense, stretched its lead to 55-47 on two free throws by Andre Sweet with 3:20 left. St. John's did not threaten the rest of the way.

  Lamont Hamilton led the Red Storm with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Lawrence scored 13 before fouling out for the third straight game.

  Sweet led Seton Hall with 15 points. The starting guard J.R. Morris was 1 for 10 from the field for the Pirates, but he grabbed 15 rebounds.

  Whatever momentum St. John's built with its 65-62 upset victory over Pittsburgh on Jan. 18 seems long gone. The Red Storm has lost three in a row, and its performance on Saturday was among its worst this season.

  "You can't get back what is lost," Roberts said.

  "It is gone. What we have to do is correct what we can correct and make sure we come out next time with a better effort."
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