Curbelo atones for early struggles with late heroics as Johnnies down Temple

Andre Curbelo (3) elevates for go-ahead layup, drawing foul in process as St. John’s fended off Temple in Empire Classic semifinal. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW YORK — Well, there’s a dark cloud rising from the desert floor

I’ve packed my bags and I’m heading straight into the storm

Gonna be a twister to blow everything down

That ain’t got the faith to stand its ground

— Bruce Springsteen, “The Promised Land”

More often than not, St. John’s loses this game.

Everyone has lived it, so there’s no need to explain. Anybody with more than just a faint exposure to red and white in his or her life has seen and acted in the movie. Scrappy mid-major takes the floor, pushes St. John’s to the limit, and does just enough to steal one at the expense of a Red Storm program left to scrounge for the crumbs and rationalize another meal gone wrong.

LIU did that in 2016, on the same Barclays Center floor. VCU was in position to do the same two years later before Bo Boroski swallowed his whistle on Marcus Evans drawing contact from Shamorie Ponds. Countless teams have walked into Carnesecca Arena and left with a high-major scalp tucked firmly into their back pockets. Temple was the latest contender on that list Monday night in Brooklyn, opening up a 13-point lead midway through the first half amid yet another slow start from the Johnnies coupled with the same suffocating defense that felled Rutgers against the Owls just three days prior, then fighting back to retake the lead with an 11-2 run in the waning minutes of regulation when it looked like Mike Anderson’s team was begging Temple to take the game from its cold, disengaged hands after Zach Hicks punctuated the rally with a 3-pointer in the left corner to put the residents of North Broad Street ahead, 72-70. 

Then, minutes before midnight, the cameras started rolling on an all-new episode of Late Night with Andre Curbelo.

Curbelo, whose game on his best nights is one part Tasmanian Devil, one part Road Runner, and one part Monet, was in the midst of a night he and every supporter of the Johnnies would love to forget. For nearly 39 minutes, the Illinois transfer missed 10 of his first 12 shots and indirectly contributed to more harm than good before going up on a circus layup with just the right amount of spin and just the right amount of contact with Temple’s Hysier Miller to draw a foul and a 3-point play opportunity to put St. John’s ahead. On the ensuing possession following the successful free throw, Curbelo was the beneficiary of a live-ball turnover, forcing his way into the lane for a second layup, this one bringing with it a three-point advantage. Montez Mathis and Joel Soriano iced the game at the stripe, and 75 seconds after the panic button was pressed and the usual empty, desolate feeling had set in, the Red Storm had itself a 78-72 victory, a game-ending 8-0 run for a 5-0 start, and a showdown with forever rival Syracuse on Tuesday in the championship game of the Empire Classic.

“I knew the play was for me,” Curbelo recounted of his eventual game-winning drive. “All that was going through my mind was, ‘it’s game time, it’s winning time, and I’m just gonna go get it.’ And I did.”

“That’s what we brought him here for,” Anderson proclaimed. “I think he’s a guy that can make plays. Even in this game here, he had a lot of plays where he got to the basket and just didn’t finish it, but no question about it, I see it in practice each and every day. That’s what he does.”

But how did Curbelo, the Long Island Lutheran product who gushed all summer about being back home and having a built-in support system to shield him from the toxic side of the game, develop the sudden confidence to take the game into his own hands after what shaped up to be a largely forgettable evening?

“This guy right here to my left,” he said, pointing to Anderson. “I had a tough year last year. I doubted myself at times, but coming home, having a great coach, great coaching staff, great teammates, they encourage me every day. They know what I can do, they know what I can bring to the table. Having a great coaching staff and great teammates, man, that goes a long way. That’s big for me because they kept me encouraged.”

And as Curbelo is encouraged, the fans starving to embrace a winner in Queens should be as well. So many times, the names may have changed, the coaches may have changed, yet the result would remain the same. In its first true test after four comfortable wins to open the season, St. John’s showed a mettle not usually seen before Big East play, not buckling and remaining on the same page for 40 minutes, with a gritty win as a reward where the common expectation from recent years would have been to wilt under pressure.

“We continue to learn each and every day about the makeup of this team, the makeup of this team,” a proud Anderson assessed. “I saw a trait that I really liked, and that is even as we were down there at the end, I thought we stayed the course of standing together defensively and making plays on the offensive end. I always talk about making plays. It ain’t just the offensive plays, it’s the defensive plays, but it’s good to have guys who can go out and do the things you work on each and every day. I thought we did that today.”

The next challenge for the Red Storm is how it will respond off a turnaround of less than 24 hours to take on Syracuse for the first time since 2016, when St. John’s lit up the then-Carrier Dome in a 93-60 obliteration of the Orange that — not coincidentally — served as the last time Jim Boeheim willingly scheduled his program’s former conference rival. In what will essentially be a de facto road game, Anderson likened it to a championship atmosphere and insisted his team would be ready.

“It’s a championship game,” he admitted. “It’s the next big game on our schedule. It’s an in-state school, we’re fighting to win games, they’re fighting to win games, so it should be a great atmosphere.”

More importantly, the Red Storm has a united front that, if Monday is any indication, is ready to blow away the prior indignities of past history that has left coaches, players and fans feeling lost and brokenhearted.

“We had a lot of moments today where adversity hit us,” Soriano revealed. “And I feel like we stayed together more than ever. Like I said before, I love this team to death. I feel like we’re more unified than anything, and when we’re together, I feel like nothing could break us.”