National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
St. John's 65, Rutgers 63
When: 2:25 PM ET, Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials: # Jim Burr, # John Higgings, # Earl Walton
Attendance: 19375

Dwight Hardy scored 17 points and Sean Evans added 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench as fifth-seeded St. John’s got some help from the referees and barely scraped past 13th-seeded Rutgers, 65-63, in the second round of the Big East Championship at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

Justin Brownlee added 13 points for the Red Storm (21-10, 12-6 Big East), who will face fourth-seeded Syracuse in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

St. John’s had a 10-point lead at one point but went scoreless for nearly four minutes down the stretch. The Scarlet Knights took advantage when Mike Coburn drove for a layup and was fouled with 57 seconds left. The free throw gave Rutgers (15-17, 5-13) its first lead, 61-60, since early in the first half. But Hardy drove the lane and managed to draw a foul, hitting both shots from the line to put the Red Storm back up 62-61 with 37 seconds on the clock.

A steal and two more free throws from Evans pushed the lead to 64-61 and several calls and non-calls went against the Scarlet Knights in the last few seconds as St. John’s managed to escape.
Top Game Performances
 
Rutgers   St. John's
James Beatty 15 Scoring Dwight Hardy 17
Dane Miller 5 Assists Malik Boothe 5
Gilvydas Biruta 8 Rebounds Sean Evans 9
James Beatty 4 Free Throws Made Dwight Hardy 7
Mike Coburn 2 Steals Justin Brownlee 3
Jonathan Mitchell 2 Blocks Justin Brownlee 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Rutgers 63 36.1 6-19 13-15 14 31 5 5
St. John's 65 45.8 3-10 18-23 10 30 3 8