High Water Mark
6/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Pirate Blue
June 10, 2014
In advance of the 2014 Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony which will honor the 1988-89 national runner-up men's basketball team, SHUPirates.com will take you through the moments that comprised the Pirates' magical run to the Kingdome and the Final Four - one that ignited passions, defied the odds and left an indelible mark on the program and the university alike.
Monday's installment recounted The Hall's triumphant showing against the fifth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas before a capacity crowd at the Meadowlands. At this, the midpoint in our journey through the historic 1988-89 season, we return to East Rutherford where the Pirates recorded a record-setting victory over St. John's behind a second half performance for the ages from one of the program's brightest stars.
Success breeds expectations.
Little attention had been paid to him and his team in the preseason but over the course of his senior campaign, John Morton had been the igniter behind a Seton Hall offense that was often clicking on all cylinders. Following the rousing victory over Georgetown, Morton helped the Pirates plant their flag near the top of the BIG EAST standings; finishing as the team's top scorer in six consecutive outings during the heart of the league schedule.
With the squad standing at 21-4 overall after the 6-foot-3 guard dropped a team-high 23 points in a win at Villanova (2/11), both the team and Morton were riding high. A noted slasher with the ability to beat defenders off the dribble and get to the rim almost at will; an augmented outside game had transformed his offensive arsenal and helped him finish as the team leader in points on 15 different occasions over the first 25 contests of the season.
With two stops remaining on a challenging three-game road swing however, that shooting stroke which Morton had spent hours in the gym honing with the help of teammate Jose Rebimbas, temporarily began to betray the rising star. Morton and backcourt-mate Gerald Greene combined for more turnovers (13) than points (10) in a clash at Connecticut but as is the hallmark of any winning side, his teammates were there to pick him up.
The frontline tandem of Ramon Ramos and Andrew Gaze orchestrated a devastating inside-out attack, totaling 49 points as Seton Hall moved past the Huskies, 72-69, to complete the season sweep. Three nights later, Ramos followed up a career-high 27 points by pouring in 25 more at Pittsburgh but despite an additional 18 from Gaze, The Hall was unable to overcome Morton's continued struggles and sustained an 82-76 defeat.
As the Pirates returned home to host the rival Redmen, a pair of hand injuries had further complicated Morton's efforts to regain his outstanding form. Questions arose regarding whether his decline in production was an overdue regression to the norm and if the Pirates were deep enough to continue to succeed should he fail to rediscover his shooting stroke.
While the proliferation of social media and 24-hour sports news has magnified the stage for such criticisms in the modern era, the sentiments were still potentially damaging for the veteran and a team with its eyes on a title. The pressure only intensified after he posted a first half stat line of zero points on 0-for-4 shooting as The Hall went into the break deadlocked at 26-26 against a floundering St. John's squad.
Tom Liucci, the Seton Hall beat writer at the time, would later detail how it was during the subsequent intermission that amidst an uneasy pacing of the locker room, Morton made a commitment to rise above his slumping ways and ailing hands. He proceeded to score all of his team-high 22 points in the final period while connecting on 7-of-11 shot attempts, none bigger than a corner 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining that provided the difference in a 63-60 victory.
Behind Morton's resurgent performance, The Hall picked up yet another significant win that altered the school record books. The result moved the Pirates to 9-5 in conference play, establishing a new program-best for BIG EAST wins in a single season. It also marked just the second time in a then 80-year-old rivalry that Seton Hall had bested St. John's twice in one season and the first since the 1913-14 campaign.
The Redmen also became the latest addition to the list of BIG EAST schools the Pirates had swept throughout the season - one that included Boston College, Connecticut and Villanova to that point. The Hall would close the regular season with two-straight wins over Providence, making the Friars the fifth conference team to suffer two losses to the Pirates, followed by a 33-point beating of Brooklyn to head into the postseason on a high note.
Tomorrow, our Hall of Fame series will continue as SHUPirates.com travels to Tucson, Arizona where on the heels of a BIG EAST Tournament semifinals appearance, the third-seeded Pirates opened the tournament run that forever cemented the 1988-89 squad's place in Seton Hall lore.
A limited number of seats remain available for the 2014 Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony to be held on Wednesday, June 18 inside Historic Walsh Gymnasium. For more information on attending and sponsorship opportunities, please click here.
