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NEW YORK – The UConn men’s basketball team couldn’t weather the Red Storm at Madison Square Garden as it fell to No. 1 seed St. John’s in the Big East Tournament championship Saturday night, 72-52.
The second-seeded Huskies (29-5) spotted a 10-point lead out of the gates and couldn’t overcome the defensive intensity of the Johnnies as they turned the ball over 17 times and shot just 3-for-19 (15.8%) from beyond the arc.
St. John’s, winning its fifth tournament title all-time in the rubber match of Big East behemoths, became the first back-to-back dual-champion in the league since its divisional era ended in 2004.
Perhaps a bigger loss for UConn came with about three and a half minutes left, when point guard Silas Demary Jr. had to be helped into the locker room with an apparent lower body injury.
The Johnnies were led by 18 points a piece from bigs Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins and a 14-point effort from guard Oziyah Sellers. UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. was the only Husky to finish in double-figures as he scored 17 points with seven rebounds.
UConn got jumped from the moment the ball was tipped. Overwhelmed by the length and athleticism of a St. John’s team motivated by the embarrassing 72-40 loss it took in Hartford in the last matchup, the Huskies gave up a 10-0 run to start the game before Solo Ball broke the seal four minutes in with a 3-point play.
The physicality of the Johnnies forced the UConn offense out of sorts as it started the game 1-for-9 from the field, repeatedly allowing easy runs to the rim at the other end as St. John’s piled on, making 10 of its first 14 shots. Frustration grew on the Huskies’ sideline and boiled over with 12 and a half minutes left in the half as coach Dan Hurley executed a series of foot stomps that led to a technical foul from referee James Breeding.
UConn held the Johnnies to 2-for-12 shooting to end the half and cut the deficit to 12 with a series of free throws from Demary in the final two minutes. The Huskies turned the ball over 11 times before they went into the half trailing, 40-27.
St. John’s came out of the break with a 7-2 run but UConn answered with buckets inside from Braylon Mullins and Alex Karaban before the standout freshman nailed a 3-pointer from the wing in transition. Reed scored six-straight UConn points in the paint to make it a 13-2 swing and cut the deficit to seven with 12 and a half minutes to play as the Johnnies started the half just 3-for-10 from the field.
Ejiofor, the Big East Player of the Year, had something to say about it. The big man made a 3-pointer from the top of the key and dropped in a layup over Reed before a vicious block on Demary, which led to a flashy transition dunk from Mitchell. Demary was slow to get up after the play and ended up walking off on his own power to get checked on in the locker room for a short time.
Malachi Smith got involved immediately, outrunning the Johnnies down the court after a steal from Ross and finishing a layup through contact to cut the deficit back to 10 with eight minutes to play. But St. John’s returned to its first-half efficiency and went on a 10-0 run to blow open a 20-point advantage with three and a half minutes left, when Demary left the game for good.
St. John’s lead grew to as many as 23 points with less than three minutes to play.
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The second-seeded Huskies (29-5) spotted a 10-point lead out of the gates and couldn’t overcome the defensive intensity of the Johnnies as they turned the ball over 17 times and shot just 3-for-19 (15.8%) from beyond the arc.
St. John’s, winning its fifth tournament title all-time in the rubber match of Big East behemoths, became the first back-to-back dual-champion in the league since its divisional era ended in 2004.
Perhaps a bigger loss for UConn came with about three and a half minutes left, when point guard Silas Demary Jr. had to be helped into the locker room with an apparent lower body injury.
The Johnnies were led by 18 points a piece from bigs Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins and a 14-point effort from guard Oziyah Sellers. UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. was the only Husky to finish in double-figures as he scored 17 points with seven rebounds.
UConn got jumped from the moment the ball was tipped. Overwhelmed by the length and athleticism of a St. John’s team motivated by the embarrassing 72-40 loss it took in Hartford in the last matchup, the Huskies gave up a 10-0 run to start the game before Solo Ball broke the seal four minutes in with a 3-point play.
The physicality of the Johnnies forced the UConn offense out of sorts as it started the game 1-for-9 from the field, repeatedly allowing easy runs to the rim at the other end as St. John’s piled on, making 10 of its first 14 shots. Frustration grew on the Huskies’ sideline and boiled over with 12 and a half minutes left in the half as coach Dan Hurley executed a series of foot stomps that led to a technical foul from referee James Breeding.
UConn held the Johnnies to 2-for-12 shooting to end the half and cut the deficit to 12 with a series of free throws from Demary in the final two minutes. The Huskies turned the ball over 11 times before they went into the half trailing, 40-27.
St. John’s came out of the break with a 7-2 run but UConn answered with buckets inside from Braylon Mullins and Alex Karaban before the standout freshman nailed a 3-pointer from the wing in transition. Reed scored six-straight UConn points in the paint to make it a 13-2 swing and cut the deficit to seven with 12 and a half minutes to play as the Johnnies started the half just 3-for-10 from the field.
Ejiofor, the Big East Player of the Year, had something to say about it. The big man made a 3-pointer from the top of the key and dropped in a layup over Reed before a vicious block on Demary, which led to a flashy transition dunk from Mitchell. Demary was slow to get up after the play and ended up walking off on his own power to get checked on in the locker room for a short time.
Malachi Smith got involved immediately, outrunning the Johnnies down the court after a steal from Ross and finishing a layup through contact to cut the deficit back to 10 with eight minutes to play. But St. John’s returned to its first-half efficiency and went on a 10-0 run to blow open a 20-point advantage with three and a half minutes left, when Demary left the game for good.
St. John’s lead grew to as many as 23 points with less than three minutes to play.
Continue reading...
