Hart’s Late Plays Help Keep Syracuse Unbeaten

St. John’s did exactly what it wanted to do Monday night against No. 4-ranked Syracuse. The Red Storm just didn’t do it long enough.

Leading most of the game and threatening to end the Orangemen’s unbeaten season, St. John’s fizzled again in the closing minutes and Syracuse (18-0 overall, 8-0 in the Big East) escaped with a 63-57 victory at the Carrier Dome to remain the only undefeated team in Division I.

Jason Hart, playing with four fouls, made a three-point shot from the right corner to forge a 54-54 tie with 3:27 left. Then, with the score tied at 56-56, Hart broke the St. John’s press and made a pass to a wide-open Damone Brown, who made layup and free throw after being fouled with 1:58 left.

“We have a lot of confidence. We didn’t get to 18 [wins in a row] without any confidence,” said Hart, who had 12 points and five assists. “Whether we’re down or up, we have a will to pull the game out.”

St. John’s (13-6, 5-3) led 54-49 after Anthony Glover converted a three-point play with 5:23 left. The Red Storm had controlled the tempo with patience on offense and its defense had frustrated Hart and center Etan Thomas before slipping into its recent mode of blowing leads late.

A week ago, Ohio State closed its win over St. John’s with an 11-0 run, while Notre Dame finished a victory last Saturday with a 17-2 run. Syracuse closed this game with a 20-8 run.

Thomas took only four shots in finishing with eight points, but had 11 rebounds and six blocked shots. Bootsy Thornton led St. John’s with 13 points.

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In other top 25 men’s games: Eduardo Najera, playing with a broken left hand, had 18 points and 16 rebounds for No. 18 Oklahoma (17-3, 5-2 in the Big 12) in an 83-59 victory over No. 16 Texas (14-6, 6-2) at Norman, Okla. . . . Alex Jensen scored 26 points at Salt Lake City to lead No. 19 Utah (17-3, 6-0 in the Mountain West Conference) to its 47th consecutive home-court victory, an 82-70 decision over New Mexico (11-10, 3-3).

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In top 25 women’s games: Tamicha Jackson scored 21 points for No. 2 Louisiana Tech (15-2, 6-0 in the Sun Belt Conference) in a 90-45 victory over Denver (11-7, 5-3) at Ruston, La. . . . Summer Erb scored 25 points to lead No. 11 North Carolina State (16-4, 7-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) to an 86-56 victory over Wake Forest (6-14, 2-7) at Winston-Salem, N.C.