Dec. 19, 2004
Box Score
QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's junior forward Rodney Epperson scored 26 points and sophomore Darryl Hill added 20, leading St. John's to a 74-66 victory over Marist on Sunday in front of 3,282 fans at Carnesecca Arena.
The win improves the Red Storm to 4-4 overall, while the Red Foxes fall to 4-5.
St. John's led by six points at the half, 31-25, but Marist came out quickly in the second half to tie the game. The teams traded baskets and the Red Foxes tied the game for the fourth time when sophomore Will Whittington, who scored a career-high 31 points, hit a three-pointer with 14:39 to play.
The Red Storm followed with a 15-5 run a 6:24 span that gave them a 55-45 lead with 8:02 to play. Hill started the deciding run with a 3-pointer and Epperson added two jumpers in the spurt.
St. John's appeared ready to close out the game in the waning minutes, leading by 11 with just under four minutes left, but back-to-back baskets from Whittington and Ryan Stilphen cut the St. John's lead to five points, 65-60, with 2:10 to play.
Epperson, who connected on 11-of-15 shots from the field, took a pass from freshman Cedric Jackson for a dunk to increase the lead to seven points, 67-60. Hill followed by connecting on five of six free throws, and Epperson hit a pair in the final 1:30 to seal the win.
Whittington was 7-for-14 from 3-point range, one off Joey O'Connor's school record of eight 3-pointers in a game, set against Loyola during the 1987-88 season. He came into Sunday's contest ranked fourth in the nation in 3-pointers made at 4.25 and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage at .567.
St. John's head coach Norm Roberts was particularly impressed with Whittington's game.
"He is a terrific shooter," said Roberts. "He not only is a great shooter, but he is a player. He is a guy who keeps you off-balance and has great confidence. I think we didn't guard him as well as we would have liked to. You have to give him credit though, as he hit some big shots. He is going to be a terrific player."
Will McClurkin added 12 points, four rebounds, three blocks and three steals in the loss. In all, Marist collected six blocks on the afternoon after recording just 10 swats in its first eight games.
Marist hit seven of its first 12 shots in taking an 18-11 lead, but the Red Foxes made just one of their next eight as the Red Storm went on a 10-3 run to tie it. Hill had six points as St. John's closed the first half on a 10-2 run to take a 31-25 lead.
The Red Foxes will now turn their attention to another Big East opponent, Notre Dame, for a road contest on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
