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A pair of teams with minimal rest will face off in Nassau, Bahamas, on Sunday when No. 22 St. John takes on Georgia. St. John's (5-1), which will play its third game in four days, began the stretch in the Bahamas Championship on Thursday, dropping a heartbreaker to No. 13 Baylor. The Red Storm led by 18 in the first half before Baylor forced overtime. From there, St. John's rallied from five down with 1:47 left to send the game to a second overtime, where it saw Baylor knock down a pair of 3-pointers in the final seven seconds -- including Jeremy Roach's buzzer-beater -- to knock off the Red Storm 99-98. In the third-place game on Friday, St. John's breezed past Virginia 80-55. RJ Luis Jr. led the way with 18 points and four steals, followed by Kadary Richmond's 12 points, as the Red Storm took a one-point lead with 15:21 left in the first half and didn't trail again. "I'm really impressed with our guys, coming off a double-overtime, extremely emotional loss," St. John's head coach Rick Pitino said. "To respond that way was extremely impressive, both offensively and defensively." Pitino, in his second year with the Red Storm, was moved by something off the court on Friday, involving captain Zuby Ejiofor, who chipped in eight points, nine boards, two steals and two blocks. Ejiofor was serenaded by St. John's fans during the win, following his two missed free throws at the end of double overtime against Baylor. "When you've only been in a job for a year, you search for things you love about a place," Pitino said. "Tonight I found out what I love about St. John's. Our fans chanted Zuby's name the whole game, which doesn't happen anywhere else in America. I was really impressed with our fans and I thank them for making Zuby feel good, because he gives you all the energy." Luis leads the Red Storm with 17.3 points per game, followed by Ejiofor (10.7), Aaron Scott (10.5), Deivon Smith (10.3) and Richmond (10.2). Georgia enters Sunday's matchup looking to rebound from its first loss after falling to No. 15 Marquette 80-69 on Saturday. Georgia (5-1) battled back from a 15-point, second-half deficit, but was held to just three points over the final 4:57 in Saturday's loss. Blue Cain led the Bulldogs with a season-high 17 points, including five 3-pointers. "It's a process. It's a journey with this team," Bulldogs head coach Mike White said. "It's about continuing to make strides, continuing to protect our culture. ... At the end of the day, wins and losses are going to take care of themselves. We just have to embrace the process and enjoy it." Five-star freshman recruit Asa Newell was held to a season-low nine points but leads the team with 15.5 points per game. Silas Demary Jr. is second with 13.8. --Field Level MediaFailure in controlling corruption risks Philippine grant from US MCCMichael Villella, the actor best known for playing killer Russ Thorn in the cult horror movie The Slumber Party Massacre , has died. He was 84. Villella made his acting debut in the 1982 film, which was financed by prolific film producer Roger Corman . The actor’s daughter Chloe Villella announced her father’s death in a brief statement on Saturday (November 24) on Facebook . “May you rest in peace daddy,” she wrote, alongside a picture showing a photograph of her father displayed next to a burning candle. According to TMZ , Villella died of multiple organ failure after spending over a month in the hospital. The Slumber Party Massacre was conceived and written by feminist author Rita Mae Brown as a parody of the slasher genre. It was filmed more like a straight horror and gained a loyal following, as well as inspiring multiple sequels and a string of spin-offs including the Sorority House Massacre trilogy and the Cheerleader Massacre films. Villella’s performance as the escaped mass murderer Russ Thorn, who kills using a power drill, made an immediate and visceral impact on viewers. In a review for The Chicago Reader , critic Dave Kehr praised the “unusually appealing cast and generally good pacing by director Amy Jones.” “The screenplay, by novelist Rita Mae Brown ( Rubyfruit Jungle ), contains some funny asides on teenage sibling rivalry and peer group cohesion, and there is a surprising stab at black humor during a scene involving a dead pizza boy (Aaron Lipstadt),” continued Kehr. “This was a New World picture, although it was released under another name, and it features that studio’s ineffable way of subverting reactionary genres by introducing trace amounts of progressive ideology. The film went on to gross $3.6 million at the box office, against an estimated budget of just $220,000. Villella continued to act, appearing in such films as Love Letters (1983), Gotham (1988) and Wild Orchid (1989). He also appeared in episodes of Amazing Stories (1987) and Getting Away with Murder as recently as 2007. Fans have been paying tribute to Villella on social media, with one writing on X/Twitter : “RIP Michael Villella. The man who played Russ Thorn in the classic 80’s slasher, THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE has passed away. Few horror villains could rock the denim like he did and make lines like ‘It takes a lot of love for a person to...do this’ sound creepy as all get out.” The actor is survived by his daughter and ex-wife.
fish logo
A pair of teams with minimal rest will face off in Nassau, Bahamas, on Sunday when No. 22 St. John takes on Georgia. St. John's (5-1), which will play its third game in four days, began the stretch in the Bahamas Championship on Thursday, dropping a heartbreaker to No. 13 Baylor. The Red Storm led by 18 in the first half before Baylor forced overtime. From there, St. John's rallied from five down with 1:47 left to send the game to a second overtime, where it saw Baylor knock down a pair of 3-pointers in the final seven seconds -- including Jeremy Roach's buzzer-beater -- to knock off the Red Storm 99-98. In the third-place game on Friday, St. John's breezed past Virginia 80-55. RJ Luis Jr. led the way with 18 points and four steals, followed by Kadary Richmond's 12 points, as the Red Storm took a one-point lead with 15:21 left in the first half and didn't trail again. "I'm really impressed with our guys, coming off a double-overtime, extremely emotional loss," St. John's head coach Rick Pitino said. "To respond that way was extremely impressive, both offensively and defensively." Pitino, in his second year with the Red Storm, was moved by something off the court on Friday, involving captain Zuby Ejiofor, who chipped in eight points, nine boards, two steals and two blocks. Ejiofor was serenaded by St. John's fans during the win, following his two missed free throws at the end of double overtime against Baylor. "When you've only been in a job for a year, you search for things you love about a place," Pitino said. "Tonight I found out what I love about St. John's. Our fans chanted Zuby's name the whole game, which doesn't happen anywhere else in America. I was really impressed with our fans and I thank them for making Zuby feel good, because he gives you all the energy." Luis leads the Red Storm with 17.3 points per game, followed by Ejiofor (10.7), Aaron Scott (10.5), Deivon Smith (10.3) and Richmond (10.2). Georgia enters Sunday's matchup looking to rebound from its first loss after falling to No. 15 Marquette 80-69 on Saturday. Georgia (5-1) battled back from a 15-point, second-half deficit, but was held to just three points over the final 4:57 in Saturday's loss. Blue Cain led the Bulldogs with a season-high 17 points, including five 3-pointers. "It's a process. It's a journey with this team," Bulldogs head coach Mike White said. "It's about continuing to make strides, continuing to protect our culture. ... At the end of the day, wins and losses are going to take care of themselves. We just have to embrace the process and enjoy it." Five-star freshman recruit Asa Newell was held to a season-low nine points but leads the team with 15.5 points per game. Silas Demary Jr. is second with 13.8. --Field Level MediaFailure in controlling corruption risks Philippine grant from US MCCMichael Villella, the actor best known for playing killer Russ Thorn in the cult horror movie The Slumber Party Massacre , has died. He was 84. Villella made his acting debut in the 1982 film, which was financed by prolific film producer Roger Corman . The actor’s daughter Chloe Villella announced her father’s death in a brief statement on Saturday (November 24) on Facebook . “May you rest in peace daddy,” she wrote, alongside a picture showing a photograph of her father displayed next to a burning candle. According to TMZ , Villella died of multiple organ failure after spending over a month in the hospital. The Slumber Party Massacre was conceived and written by feminist author Rita Mae Brown as a parody of the slasher genre. It was filmed more like a straight horror and gained a loyal following, as well as inspiring multiple sequels and a string of spin-offs including the Sorority House Massacre trilogy and the Cheerleader Massacre films. Villella’s performance as the escaped mass murderer Russ Thorn, who kills using a power drill, made an immediate and visceral impact on viewers. In a review for The Chicago Reader , critic Dave Kehr praised the “unusually appealing cast and generally good pacing by director Amy Jones.” “The screenplay, by novelist Rita Mae Brown ( Rubyfruit Jungle ), contains some funny asides on teenage sibling rivalry and peer group cohesion, and there is a surprising stab at black humor during a scene involving a dead pizza boy (Aaron Lipstadt),” continued Kehr. “This was a New World picture, although it was released under another name, and it features that studio’s ineffable way of subverting reactionary genres by introducing trace amounts of progressive ideology. The film went on to gross $3.6 million at the box office, against an estimated budget of just $220,000. Villella continued to act, appearing in such films as Love Letters (1983), Gotham (1988) and Wild Orchid (1989). He also appeared in episodes of Amazing Stories (1987) and Getting Away with Murder as recently as 2007. Fans have been paying tribute to Villella on social media, with one writing on X/Twitter : “RIP Michael Villella. The man who played Russ Thorn in the classic 80’s slasher, THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE has passed away. Few horror villains could rock the denim like he did and make lines like ‘It takes a lot of love for a person to...do this’ sound creepy as all get out.” The actor is survived by his daughter and ex-wife.