Men’s Basketball: Huskies ride fiery second half to 77-64 win over Red Storm 

When the UConn men’s basketball team took the commute to Madison Square Garden to face the St. John’s Red Storm, they knew it would be a tough task. If they thought that the effort from Rick Pitino and Co. was impressive in the first matchup between these two squads, this would be even more difficult. 

Yet, even with a 37-36 deficit at the half, this Connecticut roster showed why they are the reigning national champions and took care of business at the Mecca of basketball. In their dominating 77-64 showing over the Johnnies, the No. 1 team in the nation took their game to a whole new level, even if things initially didn’t seem fit to go that way. 

Before tipoff even began, UConn would be without Alex Karaban, the “rain setter” of the team, as Dan Hurley would call him. With the size matchups that St. John’s provides on the defensive side of the ball and the Huskies opting to include Hassan Diarra in the starting lineup, this would make the toughness meter rise to a whole new standard.  

With all those circumstances, it was no surprise that the game was close for the first few minutes. But, following a jumper by Tristen Newton at the 17:08 mark, things started to change. Balls started to fly

into the net as two quick buckets in the paint from Donovan Clingan, including a thunderous two-hand jam, would help give the program a 14-7 lead going into the first media timeout at the 15:02 mark. 

But whatever Pitino said to his guys certainly resonated with them, especially Daniss Jenkins. The Iona transfer was the real table-setter for the Johnnies in the first half as he caught fire from beyond the arc and led the team with 13 points in 20 minutes. The Huskies were still keeping it close, but Jenkins and the depth of this roster proved to be a massive test for the No. 1 team in the nation. 

Following a late bucket by former Connecticut guard Nahiem Alleyne, the Red Storm took a one-point lead into halftime. Of course, that’s not the end of the world for the Huskies with a whole 20 minutes left to play in this matchup, but if they were going to walk out of this building with a win, they were going to need to play stronger. 

For the fans in the building, things were looking like it would come down to the wire. But a quote from Hurley perfectly exemplified the mindset that would catapult his guys to what would eventually be a double-digit victory.  

That’s where the trio of Stephon Castle, Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton enter the picture. While all three players were important parts of this game, being close in the first half, Newton and Castle had a fire under them that St. John’s simply could not extinguish. 

Riding behind a crowd of thousands of Huskies fans in attendance, Connecticut played their brand of basketball in the second half. Castle played like the highly touted prospect many have revered him as, even getting the first bucket of the half for his guys. Spencer was right behind him, hitting a three-point bomb to answer back from an electrifying slam dunk by Chris Ledlum.  

“I think when you’re not where our program is at right now. You have a big player out of the game. You kind of like start making excuses. It’s ok if we lose. We’re missing something. Hell no. We came here to win,” said Hurley. 

At the 12:55 mark, that attitude began to show itself as Spencer drained a triple to give his team a two-point lead. But, instead of the game continuing to be a back-and-forth affair, this would be the final time that Connecticut would surrender their edge on the scoreboard during the entire game. 

Just like that, the Huskies went on a tear. It would be Newton who started off the run with a tough and-one bucket, but Castle would add to that as he viciously attacked the paint. That would prove to be too much for the Red Storm as he’d either grab some easy points at the stripe or some crafty buckets in the lane.  

The second half would see the small lead from UConn balloon to as much as 15 points following a triple by Spencer at the 6:40 mark. Scoring threats like Jordan Dingle and Jenkins would try their best, but the Huskies would answer back in every instance. In the end, it was simply too late for the Johnnies. 

Not only did UConn’s top scoring options all step up to the challenge of the St. John’s team, but their depth pieces did as well. With players like Clingan and Samson Johnson all getting into foul trouble, it was Jaylin Stewart who was forced to play some major minutes at the five spot. That’s certainly not an easy challenge for a freshman.

“Stewie’s true position is like a three,” said Castle on Jaylin Stewart’s attitude. “For him to come out there, not make any complaints, come out there with a smile on his face, and come there and battle down there as a five, that just speaks to the kind of culture we have here. We’ve had to do that the last couple of games, and we still come out with the win. That just shows what kind of team we are.” 

Because of the play of this entire team, they’re still No. 1 in the nation and looking for even more. At 20-2, UConn now heads back home to the XL Center for a late-night game with Butler on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m..