26 Greatest Games: 19-13

Newark's Prudential Center is home to not just Seton Hall, but some of this author's great play-by-play moments as well.  (Photo courtesy of the author's personal collection)

Yesterday, I started a series to commemorate my 26th birthday in which I recounted the twenty-six games that have the honor of being among the best that I have either called or covered.  Today's second installment continues the list that started with the following seven contests:

26) St. John's vs. Howard - November 22, 2008, Carnesecca Arena
25) St. John's vs. Marist - December 28, 2007, Madison Square Garden (Holiday Festival)
24) Iona vs. Marist - February 12, 2012, Hynes Athletics Center
23) Iona vs. Fairfield - March 4, 2012, MassMutual Center (MAAC Tournament semifinal)
22) St. John's vs. West Virginia - March 8, 2008, Madison Square Garden
21) St. Francis (NY) vs. Robert Morris - December 4, 2010 - Pope Physical Education Center
20) St. John's vs. Louisville - March 4, 2012 - XL Center (Big East Tournament quarterfinal)

Now, to pick up where we left off...

19) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - February 5, 2009, Prudential Center
After an amount of time that no one was able to determine, WSJU ended up broadcasting a road game thanks in large part to my desire to as the sports director.  Frank Qasim, my co-director and broadcast partner throughout most of the 2008-09 season, was the driver for this monumental occasion.  We made it across the river four hours before the 9pm tipoff, (thank me for wanting to beat the traffic into New Jersey) and had the honor of meeting the great Gary Cohen; who will show up on this list again later, prior to the game.  Sadly, those were the only highlights for us other than our courtside press row location until the final buzzer.  St. John's was unable to stop Jeremy Hazell, who went off for 31 points in the Pirates' 91-81 victory; one that featured a 31-9 Seton Hall lead midway through the first half, not to mention another quietly dominating performance from forward John Garcia, who seemed to kill the Red Storm whenever he played them.  The true memory of this game occurred on the drive back to Queens, when Frank's GPS inexplicably got us lost in the Garden State and had us getting on the Pulaski Skyway in the middle of it.  That experience alone made the journey worth it despite the St. John's loss.

18) St. John's vs. Notre Dame - February 25, 2012, Madison Square Garden
Frank Qasim makes a second appearance on the countdown, albeit indirectly for this game. A noon tipoff, (you'll see many more of these as we get closer to No. 1) St. John's vs. Notre Dame was preceded by me covering Iona and Fairfield in New Rochelle, followed by a night in Manhattan celebrating Frank's 24th birthday.  After not getting home until 5am, I made the conscious decision to stay up; knowing that if I went to sleep, I was not getting up to make the matinee at the Garden.  Needless to say, I was running on adrenaline before falling asleep several times in the second half of what turned out to be one of the few bright spots last season for the Red Storm.  St. John's battled to the wire in a 61-58 win that was not decided until Alex Dragicevich missed a three from the corner that would have sent the game into overtime for the Fighting Irish, and all I could think of in the final possession was Notre Dame coach Mike Brey (who wore a bowtie for charity that afternoon, a rarity if you're familiar with one of greatest coaches in the Big East) not using a timeout when he clearly could (and should) have.  I returned to New Rochelle the next day to see Iona go on a 31-0 run against Saint Peter's, but not before passing out at home following the Red Storm win.

17) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - February 22, 2009, Carnesecca Arena
Seventeen days after Seton Hall scored a home victory against St. John's, the Red Storm welcomed the Pirates into Queens on Senior Night for Tomas Jasiulionis, who started the game and scored a quick basket in the 5pm tipoff.  The pregame atmosphere was marked by a unique tribute from the Red Storm student section directed at then-Pirates coach and personal friend of mine Bobby Gonzalez, who one year prior had expressed his disbelief that Seton Hall was not playing the Red Storm in Madison Square Garden following a dramatic Red Storm win that will appear later in the countdown.  Gonzalez, who had said multiple times in his 2008 press conference that the game should have been played in the "World's Most Famous Arena," (he had a valid point) was greeted by signs featuring pictures of the coach with a pacifier in his mouth; as well as the quotes "Welcome to the World's Most Famous Arena," and "Mommy, I don't want to play at Carnesecca!"  Gonzalez acknowledged the efforts throughout the game, one that was won by the Red Storm amid some controversy after Malik Boothe made contact with Eugene Harvey in the final seconds despite no call from the officials.

16) St. Francis (NY) vs. Seton Hall - November 12, 2011, Prudential Center
I had the honor of doing play-by-play for a season opener for the first time in my young career last season when the Terriers made the journey to Newark, and for fifty-nine minutes, it seemed that St. Francis would pull off the upset.  The Terriers had fought off several Seton Hall rallies to take a lead into the final ten seconds of the game, where it all fell apart.  After Travis Nichols, the team's best free throw shooter in the previous season; missed the front end of a one-and-one with 9.9 seconds left, Seton Hall got a driving layup from senior point guard Jordan Theodore to send the game into overtime, where he carried the Pirates on his back.  Had St. Francis not made 24 turnovers and made a couple more foul shots down the stretch, they would have likely come away with the victory.  Gary Cohen also makes another appearance on this countdown, as the voice of the Mets and Pirates; who I had caught up with a few weeks prior at Seton Hall media day, walked up and shook my hand on his way back to the broadcast booth after I wrapped up my halftime show.  I considered that to be the first instance in which I had "made it" in the industry, as I was recognized by a fairly well-known fellow broadcaster.  I returned the favor three months later when I came back to Newark with St. John's.

15) St. John's vs. Cincinnati - January 22, 2009, Carnesecca Arena
A game that I originally was not going to broadcast ended up serving as a brief introduction of Jaden Daly to a national audience after no one else wanted to call this 9pm tipoff on a Thursday night.  Frank Qasim provided color commentary for me once again in a matchup that was evenly matched until D.J. Kennedy was ejected early in the second half.  Cincinnati ultimately won the matchup, but not before what appeared as a routine broadcast for Frank and myself was simulcast on ESPNU, giving us and WSJU exposure that we did not know came until we were bombarded with text messages during the game.

ESPNU's "Campus Connection" program enabled a routine WSJU broadcast to be simulcast to a national audience.  We had no idea exactly when we would be on national TV, but at least St. John's was still leading when we were.  (Photo courtesy of Al Ragone via WSJURadio.org)

14) St. John's vs. Rutgers - February 2, 2011, Carnesecca Arena

I always look forward to visits from Rutgers, as they enable to catch up with two friends: Head coach Mike Rice, and radio play-by-play voice Chris Carlin, who I had worked very closely with during our time at WFAN.  This invasion of the Scarlet Knights has even more of a backstory.  After traveling through the snow after filing my taxes earlier in the day, I continued my old tradition from my play-by-play days of being one of the first in the arena; (I actually channeled my Prudential Center experience and made it to Carnesecca a little after 5pm for the 9pm tipoff) where I soon caught up with Mariel Brady, the irreplaceable St. John's graduate assistant that basically ran the whole operation in addition to her many talents, while she was setting up press row.  Two reunions with Rice and Carlin, a delicious Qdoba taco bar, and twenty minutes of basketball later, Daly Dose superfan Quinn Rochford introduced himself to me at halftime, starting another great relationship that has now been enhanced through Quinn's work at Rumble In The Garden.  St. John's also won the game, fighting a game Rutgers team paced by the great Jonathan Mitchell and three consecutive three-pointers from Robert Lumpkins, on a reverse layup from Justin Brownlee; who battled through a broken thumb for the duration of the game, providing the perfect end to a great night.

13) St. John's vs. Providence - February 9, 2008, Carnesecca Arena

The first of two doubleheaders that I have called both ends of, this game involved trying to get Friar fan and WFAN producer Ray Martel in for a guest commentary spot, but he was unable to make it after falling under the weather on the way back from Arizona following the Giants' Super Bowl upset of the then-undefeated New England Patriots.  Even without "Sugar" Ray, the game was an instant classic.  Another noon tipoff, (recurring theme, huh?) this Big East tilt was a near-sellout, surprising since the Red Storm came into the game at 9-12 on the year and Providence was not much better.  Nonetheless, the 5,000-plus in attendance got a good show.  With the Red Storm clinging to a two-point lead, Eugene Lawrence hit a fadeaway three from the top of the key inside the final minute to give St. John's a five-point advantage, but the Friars battled back.  Down two with just a tenth of a second remaining in regulation, St. John's fouled Weyinmi Efejuku, who needed only to hit both foul shots to send the game into overtime.  Efejuku, a native of nearby Fresh Meadows, missed both shots as St. John's won the game.  On a side note, the women's matchup against Villanova that immediately followed was just as good despite the Red Storm coming up just a little short.