Oct. 29, 1963 - Harry Gallatin was buying tonight. He shelled out the cash for a case of soda, which the St. Louis Hawks pursued as eagerly as a loose ball. “You don’t expect to win these,” the tall St. Louis coach said. He was referring to the Hawks’ 109-103 overtime victory at Madison Square Garden after the Knicks had blown a six-point lead with 1:47 left in regulation. “You don’t give up, if you know what I mean. But you see the way the other team stays ahead, and you don’t expect them to let you win it.” But the Knicks did. They often do. Mike Farmer scored to bring the Hawks within four. Then John Barnhill dropped in a jumper with 18 seconds left. The Hawks stole the ball before the Knicks could reach mid-court, and Barnhill scored with another jumper, tying the game at 95-95. “I didn’t know how close we were or what the score was,” Barnhill confessed. “I just looked up at the scoreboard after the second basket and was surprised to see we were tied.” St. Louis ran away with it in overtime. Bob Pettit led the Hawks in scoring with 21 points. Richie Guerin (pictured), making his first Madison Square Garden appearance since being sold to St. Louis by the Knicks, scored 20. Guerin, who had time to visit his family in Huntington, L.I., on his trip to New York, commiserated with his former mates. “Ooh, that hurts,” he said. “I know. It hurts more than if you lose by 30.” Guerin’s old Knick teammate Carl Braun, now out of basketball, visited the Hawk locker room. “Boy, you really stole that one,” he said. “You and I have been on the other side,” Guerin said. “We know how it feels.” The Hawks will meet the Knicks again tomorrow night at Kiel Auditorium.
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