St. John's Basketball Score And Reaction: Dwight Hardy's Coming Out Party

I don't know what it is about the St. John's basketball program and it's flair for the dramatics, but Steve Lavin and Co. seem to be really good at it. Despite losing, 66-59, Saturday afternoon at the UCLA Bruins, the Red Storm, again, found themselves in a last-minute battle on nation television. It was another indication that college basketball in NYC has returned.

Senior guard Dwight Hardy netted a collegiate-best 32 points, 16 in both halves, and helped St. John's shrink a 10-point disadvantage to only three with 3:23 remaining. But the Johnnies (13-9, 5-5 Big East) just couldn't complete the comeback against UCLA (16-7, 7-3 PAC 10).

Of course the story of the day, at least for St. John's fans, was Hardy who continues to get better and better as the season progresses. Currently, at least to me, I'd place Hardy right behind UConn's junior guard Kemba Walker as the league's best. Yes, I know there's the two Coreys (Stokes and Fisher) at Villanova and there's a guy at Providence (Marshon Brooks) who scored 43 points Saturday and is now second in the nation in scoring. But there's something about Hardy that is very Acie Law-like. Hardy is such a scrapper and demands a lot from his teammates. Heck, imagine if head coach Steve Lavin had Hardy for another season? How good could the 6-foot-2 player from the Bronx, NY be?

The only other reaction I have from today's game is: Despite having nine seniors, St. John's always seems to have a point where it's players play like a bunch of freshmen. This has to be frustrating for Johnnies fans.

Trailing 60-57, the Red Storm did have chances to tie the game. However, senior forward Justin Brownlee got the case of the yips. First, Brownlee tried to isolate UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith but failed badly -- Brownlee had the ball knocked out of his hands, onto his foot and out of bounds for a turnover. Then in "transition" -- I used this term loosely because it was Brownlee against five other Bruin players -- the senior tried to force two lay ups through three UCLA players.

All-in-all, it was a good showing by the Johnnies, who in less than two days had to travel across the country and play at 10 a.m. PST. What college student is getting up at 10 a.m?

The St. John's basketball schedule features the Red Storm hosting the Connecticut Huskies (No. 6 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll) on Thursday (7 p.m.). Next Sunday, the Johnnies are at the Cincinnati Bearcats (noon).

UCLA 66, St. John's 59 Final Score: Red Storm Fall Despite Hardy's 32 Points

Despite senior guard Dwight Hardy' scoring a collegiate-best 32 points, the St. John's Red Storm lost Saturday afternoon, 66-59, at the UCLA Bruins in a non-conference game at the Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The Bruins (16-7, 7-3) snapped a six-game losing streak to the Red Storm (13-9, 5-5) and spoiled Steve Lavin's homecoming. St. John's also had it's current two-game winning streak end.

Trailing 42-32 with 14:06 remaining in the game, St. John's made a charge that cut the margin to 60-55 with about four minutes to go. Senior guard Malik Boothe hit a jump shot to cut UCLA's lead to 60-57 with 3:23 remaining but the Johnnies never got closer.

Late in the game, St. John's had two chances to tie but senior forward Justin Brownlee dribbled the ball off his foot, which caused a turnover, then he missed two shots on a transition play that featured the 6-foot-7 forward trying to power a lay up past three Bruin players.

Freshmen center Josh Smith scored a team-best 19 points for UCLA, which went 27-of-41 from the free-throw line. St. John's went just 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. The Bruins also had 18 turnovers to the Red Storm's 10.

For St. John's, freshman forward Dwayne Polee Jr. and senior forward D.J. Kennedy had just six points.

The St. John's basketball schedule features the Red Storm hosting the Connecticut Huskies (No. 6 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll) on Thursday (7 p.m.). Next Sunday, the Johnnies are at the Cincinnati Bearcats (noon).

UCLA 29, St. John's 26 Halftime Score: Red Strom Trailed Despite Dwight Hardy's 16 Points

Led by 18 bench points, 12 from freshmen center Joshua Smith, the UCLA Bruins have a 29-26 halftime advantage over the St. John's Red Storm in a non-conference contest at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. So far, senior guard Dwight Hardy has scored a game-best 16 points for St. John's, which has beaten UCLA six straight times.

St. John's (13-8, 5-5 Big East) jumped out to a 9-2 advantage, which featured Hardy netting seven points and a 3-pointer that led to a UCLA timeout with 16:21 remaining. From there, the Red Storm, who began the game shooting 4-of-8 from the field, shot just 7-of-19 (.368 percent) to end the half.

UCLA (15-7, 5-5 PAC 10) used a 11-2 run, capped by freshman guard Tyler Lamb making a 3-pointer, to take a 22-21 with 3:21 remaining in the half. Lamb has two 3s and six points.

St. John's finished the half 11-of-27 from the field and 1-of-3 from behind the 3-point arc. UCLA went 10-of-20 and 2-of-8. The Red Storm have just three turnovers while the Bruins have eight.

St. John's Vs. UCLA: Red Storm Travel To Bruins For Steve Lavin 'Homecoming'

(Sports Network) -- The St. John's Red Storm and the UCLA Bruins take a break from their respective league slates to do battle in Los Angeles this afternoon.

Back-to-back wins have enabled St. John's to improve to 13-8 overall and 5-5 in Big East Conference action. The Red Storm shocked Duke last Sunday with a 15-point blowout victory, and they managed to edge Rutgers on Wednesday in a 58-56 final. Today, the goal will be to improve a 2-5 record in true road games.

UCLA has won two straight games and six of its last seven to improve to 15-7 overall and 7-3 in Pac-10 Conference action. The Bruins defeated rival USC on Wednesday by a 64-50 final to move to 11-2 in home games this season.

St. John's owns a 6-3 series lead over UCLA, and the Red Storm is 3-0 at Pauley Pavilion, impressive to say the least.

Through 21 games, St. John's is scoring 69.4 ppg while allowing 66.8 ppg to opponents. The Red Storm have three double-digit scorers in the fold, and Dwight Hardy is tops with 15.0 ppg. Justin Brownlee checks in with 13.3 ppg, and D.J. Kennedy provides 10.3 ppg and 5.6 rpg. Against Rutgers on Wednesday, Hardy scored 15 points to pace the Red Storm, while Paris Horne and Justin Burrell managed 12 points apiece. Kennedy only managed three points in that affair, and the team shot just 36.7 percent from the field, including 2-of-11 from three-point range. Fortunately, the Red Storm were able to overcome that inefficiency by forcing 23 turnovers and earning a 20-9 edge in points from the foul line.

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