STORRS – Despite double-doubles from Liam McNeeley and Tarris Reed Jr. the No. 19 UConn men's basketball team (16-7, 8-4 BIG EAST) suffered a 68-62 setback to No. 12 St. John's (21-3, 12-1 BIG EAST) on Friday night at a sold-out Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies were felled by 22 turnovers in what turned into a defensive tussle in the second half.
The Huskies led by double-digits in the first half but would go to the halftime break down two. UConn re-took the lead midway through the second, but a 12-0 run for the Red Storm in the latter portion of the period made the difference.
Playing in his first game action since Jan. 1, McNeeley led the Huskies with 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds off the bench. Reed Jr. scored 12 and tied his career-high with a game-best 15 rebounds, also adding three blocks in the setback. Solo Ball was the third Husky in double-figures with 13 points including a trio of 3-pointers. For St. John's, RJ Luis Jr. led all players with 21 points and Kadary Richmond finished with a 12-6-6 line despite a quiet first half.
How it Happened
Ball had the hot hand in the early going, scoring eight of UConn's first 10 points to help the Huskies jump out to an early lead. The Huskies continued to pour it on after the first media stop, going on an 11-0 run capped by a Jaylin Stewart slam and 3-pointer to make it 21-8 and force a St. John's timeout at 14:22 of the first.
Midway through the first the Red Storm used an 8-0 spurt to get back within 26-20 at 8:42 of the period. SJU would make it a prolonged 15-2 run to pull within one at 28-27, before a Stewart free throw and McNeeley floater pushed it back to four. At 2:29 St. John's took its first lead of the day at 34-33, one that was quickly countered by a Reed Jr. put-back. The Red Storm would take a 37-35 lead to the break, capitalizing on UConn's 10 first half turnovers with a 10-0 edge in points off.
The Huskies opened the second half on a 7-2 run and the two sides continued to trade leads and ties. At 11:16 of the second, McNeeley knocked down a desperation 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring to give the Huskies their largest edge of the half at 48-42. The Red Storm quickly sliced the lead back to two before McNeeley connected again from downtown at 9:15 to make it 51-46 and ignite the Gampel crowd.
UConn fell into an offensive rut after going up five, and St. John's took advantage with a 6-0 burst to pull ahead 54-52 before a UConn timeout at 5:16 of the second. The Red Storm would push the decisive run all the way to 12-0, going up 60-52 with 3:11 to play.
The Huskies cut the lead back to four with a jumper from McNeeley and Reed Jr. put-back that made it 62-58 with under two minutes to play. A pair of free throws from McNeeley with 39.1 to play got the lead down to two, but Luis Jr. connected on a jumper with 10.1 to play to ice the contest for the Red Storm.
Inside The Numbers
- UConn struggled from the field and shot a season-low 39.2 percent (20-51) from the floor, while St. John's finished with a 40.0 percent (26-65) mark
- Both teams struggled from distance, with UConn going 8-of-29 (27.6) and the Red Storm shooting 4-of-21 from downtown
- Connecticut was +10 on the glass, out-rebound SJU 43-33
- UConn turned 13 offensive rebounds into an 18-11 edge in second chance points
- The Huskies turned it over 22 times and allowed SJU to hold an 18-2 advantage in points off turnovers and 12-6 edge on the fast break
- Connecticut finished with a 7-2 edge in blocked shots
- The Huskies entered the day second nationally with 6.7 swats per game
- All seven blocks for UConn came in the second half
- Reed Jr. led the swat brigade with three blocks and Ball had a pair
News and Notes
- UConn falls to 34-38 all-time against St. John's, snapping a four-game winning streak in the series
- Ball has scored in double-figures in 21 of 23 contests – a feat he accomplished only three times as a freshman a season ago
- The double-double for McNeeley was his third of the season and first since Nov. 9
- Reed Jr.'s double-double was his sixth as a Husky and his 15 rebounds tied a career-high – set while at Michigan against Rutgers on
- Connecticut had two players double up in a game for the first time since Dec. 18 when Reed Jr. and Hassan Diarra turned the feat
- Dan Hurley falls to 50-8 (.862) at Gampel Pavilion as the UConn head coach
- The Huskies have now lost back-to-back games on campus for the first time since Nov. 30 and Dec. 5, 2014, against Texas and Yale, respectively
Up Next
The Huskies are back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 11 for a trip to Omaha and a battle with Creighton.
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