RED STORM FALL IN FESTIVAL FINALE TO CORNELL

The third time is the charm for Cornell as the Big Red finally upended a Big East squad in their three attempts already this season. After falling to Seton Hall (at home) and Syracuse (at the Carrier Dome), the two-time defending Ivy League champion got past St. John's in last night's Holiday Festival Final at Madison Square Garden.

Cornell Denies St. John's Hokiday Festival Title (NY Times) as the Big Red was led by Jon Jaques’s 20 points. Jeff Foote added 19 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

It was the fourth consecutive season the Red Storm failed to capture the title on the Madison Square Garden floor. Norm Roberts' squad led by as many ass 11 points early on, but a 13-2 run after halftime by Cornell flipped the game into their favor.

With Anthony Mason Jr. still sidelined with a hamstring injury and Justin Burrell out with an ankle injury, the Redstorm has seen their depth depleted as Quincy Roberts is out because of recurring headaches and likely taking a medical redshirt this season. Dwight Hardy put up a pair of strong outings in MSG over Sunday and Monday, finishing with a team-high 19 points in 19 minutes off the bench in the finals. DJ Kennedy added 15 in the loss.

The Redstorm dominated the boards, grabbing 17 offensive rebounds and winning the overall rebounding battle 39-23. However, poor shooting (hitting just 42% from the field) was the difference as Cornell shot at a 57% clip, including 11-18 from beyond the arc.

St. John's will host Bryant on Wednesday ahead of their conference opener against original Big East rival Georgetown on New Year's Eve at the Verizon Center in the nation's capitol.

ST. JOHN'S IMPROVES TO 7-1 WITH GARDEN PARTY VICTORY

Has Winning Finally Become the 'Norm' (NY Post) for the Red Storm? With St. John's defeating Georgia 66-56 Wednesday night in the opening game of the SEC/Big East Invitational at Madison Square Garden, Norm Roberts' club improves to 7-1. What is more impressive is SJU has yet to have 5th year senior Anthony Mason Jr, a proven Big East player, available this season because of injury and last night played without starting power forward Justin Burrell who missed the game with a sprained ankle. Burrell suffered the injury in the opening minute of SJU's lone loss of the season, last Saturday at Duke.

The Storm is Starting to Believe (NY Post) in themselves and are relying on each other to win games. Even with the injuries and the importance of performing well ont he big stage, Norm Roberts sticks to his principles and started the game with DJ Kennedy, Paris Horne and Sean Evans on the bench as the normal starting trio were punished for being three minutes late to the team bus earlier in the day.

Kennedy continues to shine in his role, this time coming off the bench, to score 11 points, grad 7 rebounds and dish 5 assists. NYC Native and JUCO transfer Dwight Hardy led SJU with 12 points as the balanced Storm saw all 10 players that played Wednesday score at least three points.

St. John's will wrap up their pre-conference late with home games against Fordham (Sunday), Hofstra (12/20) and Bryant (12/23) before diving into conference play on the road against Georgetown on New Year's Eve.

GRITTY RED STORM FALLS TO DUKE, FACE GEORGIA NEXT

The Chance to play Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium was definitely a measuring stick opportunity for the St. John's basketball team on Saturday. Entering the game 6-0 and receiving some votes in the latest top 25 polls, the Red Storm was eager to see how they stacked up against an elite team in the country. Duke Snaps St. John's Winning Streak in 80-71 Win (NY Daily News) as they ride a big early lead to victory.

Duke took a 40-24 lead at the half and SJU, already without 5th year senior Anthony Mason Jr, lost junior Justin Burrell to a sprained ankle in the game's opening minutes as Duke Was Too Much for Gritty St. John's (NY Post) who accounted well for themselves despite the cirumstances.

DJ Kennedy led SJU with 18 points and Sean Evans scored 17.

A 17-0 first half Duke run took control of the contest, but SJU closed the gap to 58-52 in the second half. Duke, which held a solid rebounding edge, ran off 10 more consecutive points to push the lead back to 16. St. John's would push back, but never get within six again.

The Redstorm are back in action on Wednesday night playing the first game of the SEC/Big East Invitational at Madison Square Garden against Georgia.