Dark Clouds For Red Storm Fans In Forest Hills

It was yesterday, and a sunny one at that, foreshadowing the coming of Spring.  Last night, bars were crowded on Austin St. as celebrants toasted to the day. At in Forest Hills, people danced to a live DJ, chatted, and the brew flowed through the night.

Some of the patrons were St. John’s University basketball fans, and their team was playing last night in the NCAA tournament, a first round match-up against Gonzaga University played before a packed house in Denver, Colorado.

St. John’s played hard.  They fought valiantly without starting senior guard,  D.J. Kennedy, out with a knee injury.  However, the Red Storm lost 86-71 to a red-hot Gonzaga (25-9) team that shot 53 percent from the field

The Bulldogs hit what seemed every shot they took in the opening minutes of the 2nd half to solidify their double digit lead. They hit 4 straight three pointers to take command of the game.

At the bar, the game was played on multiple screens in front of throng of revelers decked out in green.  But St. John’s fans were thinking red.

Josh Shek, 23 and his friend Adam Spilke, 23, both of Forest Hills, were psyched up at the start of the game. They were season ticket holders who followed the Red Storm’s every game.  

St. John’s and Gonzaga played at a feverish pace in the opening minutes of the first half.  Shek pointed out that St. John’s finally had a shot in the NCAA’s after waiting so long to play in March Madness.  “We’ve never had a future,” said Spilke, energized just after tip-off.  “We do now. It’s exciting.”

The game was tied at 12 early in the first half.  Neither team seemed to be willing to back down.  It felt like “game on”, the players wearing their uniforms as gladiators wore their armor.

But Gonzaga had great quickness and size and the Zags zipped up and down the court, making tough shots look easy. 

Early on in the first half, a Gonzaga player dramatically fell to the floor, taking a charge against a St. John’s player.  “It was a flop,” Shek said. “A bad call.”

The Zags moved to a 10 point lead at 28-18, and it seemed it would be a long night for Red Storm fans.  Richard Krohley, 33, a St. John’s grad in 2002, remained hopeful.

“I hope St. John’s wins but I’m nervous,” he said.

Shek and Spilke looked glum as Gonzaga made the big plays winning teams make.

The camera had a shot of D.J. Kennedy looking sad on the bench.  The Johnnies clearly missed him.  Gonzaga out-rebounded the Red Storm 43-20 in the game.  Dwight Hardy scored 26 points for the Red Storm but it wasn’t enough.  Gonzaga shot lights out.

“You can’t do anything about it,” said Shek.