In a game paced in the high 70s in possessions by my (really) quick estimation, St. John's allowed a comeback and second half of epic proportions - 42-19 to end the game, and 51 points given up in the second half. And they lost.
The Fordham crowd was in it, yelling, screaming...
And then they won.
And then they stormed the court.
UPDATED: Student Section court storming video:
Wow.
I am sick, upset, annoyed. I flew to NYC for this?
The rational thinker in me is pissed that I didn't write up some thoughts on how Steve Lavin goes about his season - playing with lineups, seeing how players respond with extended time, using some styles and chucking some styles out midseason. It's what infuriated UCLA fans, and it's something that other coaches do as well. Rick Pitino is a great example - note his bizarre losses almost every single year with Louisville to the Coastal Carolinas of the world.
But this shouldn't have happened. And it felt terrible to watch. A hometown rival. Tom Pecora who has angled for the St. John's job for years, leading chants with his proud, grinning mug. The court storming. The inability to stop a poor-shooting team. Obviously, Lavin's also working on the rotation (and Malik Boothe's hamstring was bothering him) and giving some players minutes as reward for hard work.
That said, this is a bad sign. Losing two games when favored by 14 or more points is very bad. Losing to a team that goes 6 deep? (The Rams got 7 minutes from the 7th and 8th guys on their bench.)
Fordham played a point guard who had 4 fouls in the FIRST HALF (Brenton Butler) for 39 minutes?
Fordham's star forward Chris Gaston was in foul trouble early in the second half? And neither got a fifth foul?
The team took advantage of the Fordham stars' foul situation late in the game - that's how Justin Burrell got his dunks, against Ram forwards who didn't want to foul. The Red Storm should have attacked those two mercilessly.
Instead, Justin Brownlee fouled out with 11 minutes left.
There's a lot more to say about this game. I'll do it in the morning. I have friends to see who are like family, drinks to drink, and I don't need to let the turding of pants by my favorite team get me down when I am home, in my birth city.
Life is too short.