Irvine Takes New York by Storm : College basketball: Anteaters break St. John’s 20-year hold on Lapchick tournament, 83-77.

Frank Sinatra’s voice reverberated through St. John’s Alumni Hall on Saturday as the UC Irvine Anteaters celebrated their way to the locker room, believing every word of New York’s unofficial anthem.

If they could make it here, they could make it anywhere.

The Anteaters had just fulfilled their impossible dream, beating host St. John’s, 83-77, to win the Joe Lapchick Memorial tournament. It was the first time in 21 years that the Red Storm had not won the title, ending a 41-0 St. John’s winning streak in the tournament.

“This is the one thing you always want to have for your program,” Coach Rod Baker said. “It takes us to a different level, not only in other people’s eyes but in our own eyes. Now we know we have a chance to beat pretty good teams.

“The biggest thing is that no one had ever done it before. Sure, it’s New York, but whether you accomplish something like that in Chicago or Starkville, Mississippi, to do something no one has ever done before is always very big.”

Certainly, it’s the biggest thing that has happened to an Irvine team since the Anteaters upset seventh-ranked Nevada Las Vegas during the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament in 1988, which is also the last season they got off to a 2-0 start.

The Red Storm (1-1) held a 39-33 advantage at halftime, largely because St. John’s made 19 of 21 first-half free throws and forward Zendon Hamilton already had 14 rebounds and 14 of his game-high 26 points. And it led by eight points with 13:49 to play when Felipe Lopez, who finished with 24 points, scored on a layup to put St. John’s ahead, 53-45.

But Irvine point guard Raimonds Miglinieks, the tournament’s most valuable player, made a three-point basket and then was fouled hard on a drive. He got into a shoving match with St. John’s Derek Brown and both players got technical fouls, but the Anteaters seemed to get an emotional boost.

The Anteaters tied the score, 64-64, on a 10-foot jumper by Brooklyn native Kevin Simmons, who had been recruited by St. John’s, and then sophomore guard Brian Keefe made two three-pointers and a driving layup to put Irvine up, 71-64, with 3:58 to play.

Irvine went into a full-court press and the Anteaters made 10 of 12 free throws in the final two minutes when the Red Storm was forced to foul.

“We turned up the pressure on defense and that caused them some real problems,” said Simmons, who rebounded from a shaky first game against Siena to lead the Anteaters with 24 points and nine rebounds. “We saw that some of their guys were pretty upset with each other, arguing and stuff, so we knew it was working.”