NEW YORK -- The list of why St. John's 65-62 victory over No. 21 Pittsburgh on Tuesday night was a long one.
From it being the first Big East win for first-year coach Norm Roberts to it snapping a three-game losing streak of which the last two were close ones. From it letting the Red Storm better last season's win total to it being one where they lost a big lead but found a way to pull it out in the final 25 seconds.
From the postgame celebration on the court to the giddiness in the locker room later, it was big.
"It was a terrific basketball game and it was one I think our players really deserved to win based on what they did the last two weeks," Roberts said. "We've been coming close but coming up short. Tonight, for Pittsburgh, the ball bounced off the rim instead of going in. We never gave up even when things didn't go right for us."
Daryll Hill scored 26 points, including three free throws in the final 25 seconds, for St. John's, which lost close road games to West Virginia and Notre Dame to extend its losing streak to three games.
Hill, who had career highs of 29 and 30 in his last two games, only had three points over the final 15 minutes but they were enough to give the Red Storm (7-7, 1-3 Big East) their second win this season over a ranked team.
The last game before the losing streak started was a 63-45 victory over then-No. 17 North Carolina State, also at Madison Square Garden.
"In those other games we stayed close but we knew we had the talent," said the sophomore who is leading the Big East in scoring with a 20.5 average. "We showed everybody we can play with anybody."
Carl Krauser had 22 points, seven assists and eight turnovers for the Panthers (12-3, 3-2), who had won two in a row after dropping two straight at home.
"We put ourselves in a hole and weren't able to finish it off," said Jamie Dixon, who led the Panthers to the Big East title last season as a rookie coach. "We are obviously not where we want to be as far as how we are playing."
St. John's, which has won eight of its last 10 against Pittsburgh, opened the second half with a 16-6 run to take a 52-41 lead with 13:37 to play.
That's when the Red Storm started to struggle against Pittsburgh's 2-3 zone. The Red Storm went 8:18 without a field goal and the Panthers went on a 15-2 run to take a 56-54 lead with 6:08 left.
Lamont Hamilton broke the field goal drought with 5:15 to play, tying it at 56.
"Give them credit. They did a great job with the zone of making it tough for our big guys to pass it out and then our guards got a little frustrated trying to make something happen," Roberts said. "We stayed strong. When we had to get stops we got stops."
Krauser made two free throws with 1:39 to go to give Pittsburgh a 62-59 lead, and the Red Storm tied it for the last time on a three-point play by Dexter Gray with 48 seconds left. Those were Gray's only points of the game.
Hill and Gray double-teamed Krauser into a turnover on the next possession and Hill was fouled. He made two free throws with 25 seconds left to give St. John's a 64-62 lead.
"When Carl took the second dribble, we trapped it and I grabbed the ball and got it to Daryll," Gray said.
Freshman Ronald Ramon missed a 3-point attempt from the corner with 7 seconds left and Hill was fouled with the rebound. He made one of two from the line with 2 seconds for the final margin.
Hamilton had 18 points and seven rebounds for St. John's, which matched its Big East win total from last season when it went 6-21, the worst record in school history.
Roberts said he didn't think his team was ready for Pittsburgh the way it was for North Carolina State.
"I'm still learning them," he said. "I tell them we have to find that magic level. Not too high, not too low, but the level where we can make it happen."
Chris Taft had 11 points for Pittsburgh, which went 12-for-20 from the free throw line.
"There's going to be a lot of close games in the Big East," Dixon said. "Tonight we got ourselves in a situation we couldn't get out of. I know our guys are looking at themselves and what we have to do to get better individually and as a team."
It was Pittsburgh's first game without senior guard Yuri Demetris, who was suspended indefinitely after being arrested over the weekend on burglary and simple assault charges. Demetris started all 14 games this season and was averaging 3.8 points.
