HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — St. John’s did something Sunday it had not done in 35 years — beat UConn in Hartford.
Joel Soriano scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to steer the Red Storm (13-6, 3-5 Big East) over the No. 6 Huskies (15-4, 4-4), who’ve lost 4 of 5 after starting the season with 14 straight wins.
St. John’s scored 22 points off 21 UConn turnovers and outscored the Huskies 44-28 within the paint.
The double-double was the sixteenth of the season for Soriano. AJ Storr and Posh Alexander each added 14 points for the Red Storm, which has won two in a row after a five-game losing streak.
“This game proves rather a lot,” Soriano said. “It shows what we are able to do after we’re together, after we’re connected. It just shows that after we’ve got our hats on, we do good.”
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Dylan Addae-Wusu and Rafael Pinzon added 12 points each for St. John’s and and Andre Curbelo had 10.
Jordan Hawkins led all scorers with a career-high 31 for UConn, but 20 of those got here in the primary half. Alex Karaban had 16 points and Adama Sanogo added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies.
The sport was tied on the half, but St. John’s scored the primary two baskets after intermission and led your complete second half.
The Red Storm went up 68-60 on a break-away dunk by AJ Storr after UConn missed 4 shots that would have cut the result in 4 points. That was a part of a 9-0 run that put the Red Storm up by 13. They led by as many as 16 points with 2 minutes left.
“It’s a superb day to be a Johnnie,” coach Mike Anderson said. “I believed our guys had been trending in the best direction and today, we put 40 minutes together.”
The Huskies were up by as many as eight points in the primary half before St. John’s fought its way back and after a 12-2 run went up 27-22. The teams traded leads the remaining of the half and went into intermission tied at 38.
“Their program was rather a lot tougher than our program today and I didn’t see it coming.” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “We looked weak and unprepared. They were just way tougher.”
St. John’s: The Red Storm won at what’s now the XL Center for the primary time since Feb. 29, 1988 (77-62). This system earned its first road win over a top-10 opponent since knocking off Marquette 70-69 on Feb. 5, 2019.
UConn: The Huskies had won their first 10 home games and got here into Sunday on a 15-game home winning streak. UConn, which had been ranked as high as No. 2 after its hot start, could tumble out of the highest 10 with this loss.
“To be where we were a pair weeks ago and to be where we’re today, there’s just a number of frustration,” Hurley said.
The sport was extremely physical, with 51 fouls called, 30 on UConn.
UConn’s Donovan Clingan and David Jones of St. John’s each picked up a flagrant foul for exchanging elbows after Clingan grabbed a rebound in the primary half. St. John’s Posh Alexander and UConn’s Hassan Diarra chirped at one another later within the half, with each picking up technical fouls.
Sanogo got thrown out of the sport for saying something to an official with lower than a minute to go and Curbelo was tossed just a few seconds later. Anderson said he didn’t get a proof as to why.
St. John’s: The Red Storm host Villanova at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
UConn: The Huskies travel to Recent Jersey to face Seton Hall on Wednesday.
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