Hurricanes Edged By St. John's 76-73
March 8, 2003
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) – Marcus Hatten scored a game-high 27 points andfinished his career with the best scoring average in Big East history, as St.John’s beat Miami 76-73 on Saturday night.
Hatten finished with an average of 23.0 points in 32 regular-seasonconference games – slightly higher than former Georgetown guard Allen Iverson’s22.6 per game, the previous conference career mark.
Elijah Ingram scored 23 for St. John’s (15-12, 7-9 Big East).
Darius Rice, Miami’s leading scorer, scored 26 points despite still beinghampered by torn ligaments in the index finger of his shooting hand. Rice, ajunior who has said he would leave school early if he would be a first-roundNBA draft selection, may have played his final game in Miami.
James Jones scored 18 for the Hurricanes (11-16, 4-12), who got 13 pointsfrom Robert Hite.
The outcome was a moot point for both teams, at least in terms of theirseedings for the Big East Tournament, which begins Wednesday at Madison SquareGarden.
The Red Storm, the No. 5 team in the East Division, will face Notre Dame onWednesday afternoon. Miami, the East Division’s No. 6 team, plays Seton Hall inthe opening round Wednesday night.
Miami clinched the spot earlier Saturday when Virginia Tech lost to WestVirginia. The Hokies, who also finished with a 4-12 conference record, did notadvance to the conference tournament because Miami swept Virginia Tech in theregular season.
The last-place team in each division does not qualify for the Big EastTournament.
Hatten hit three 3-pointers and Ingram added five points in the first fiveminutes of the second half, as the Red Storm turned a six-point halftime edgeinto a 51-36 lead.
Hite hit a jumper and a 3-pointer as part of a 9-2 Miami run with abouteight minutes remaining to cut the St. John’s lead to six, but Hatten answeredwith a 3-pointer to push the lead back to nine.
Hatten made a layup to give St. John’s a 73-64 lead with 47 secondsremaining, but the Hurricanes scored nine points in the next 37 seconds. Ricemade two 3-pointers during that burst, the last of which came with 10 secondsleft to draw Miami within 76-73.
But the Hurricanes would get no closer. Paulo Coelho’s desperation 3-pointtry with one second remaining was blocked by the Red Storm’s Anthony Glover,preserving the St. John’s victory.
The Red Storm missed 11 of their first 12 shots and shot just 33 percent inthe first half, but still held a 33-27 edge at the break. The Hurricanesstarted seldom-used seniors Coelho and Rafael Berumen in their final home gamesand also struggled in the opening half, shooting just 25 percent from thefloor.
Jones scored 14 of his points in the first half for Miami, which dropped itslast three home games and six of seven overall to end the regular season.
