University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
11-2,1-1Big East
St. John's
8-4,1-1Big East
UConn Takes Down St. John's Behind Late Run
12/23/2023 11:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD – The No. 5 UConn men's basketball team (11-2, 1-1 BIG EAST) used a late surge to take down St. John's (8-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) by a score of 69-65 on Saturday night in front of 15,684 fans at a sold-out XL Center.
In a game that featured six ties and 10 lead changes, UConn closed the game on an 8-2 run to nab its tightest victory of the season. Samson Johnson (Lome, Togo) had a huge performance in his first start of the season, leading all scorers with a career-high 16 points and grabbing four rebounds. Tristen Newton (El Paso, Texas) and Cam Spencer (Davidsonville, Md.) both added 15 for Connecticut, as Newton stuffed the stat sheet with nine rebounds and six assists.
How it Happened
The Huskies opened up with an 11-3 lead, getting a 3-pointer from Solomon Ball (Leesburg, Va.) to cap the opening spurt. St. John's answered with a 9-0 run, taking its first lead at 12-11 midway through the opening stanza.
After UConn re-took the lead, St. John's used an 8-0 run to build a 22-17 advantgage and force a UConn timeout at the 5:54 mark of the first half. The Red Storm would go on to take a 32-26 lead to the break.
The Red Storm scored the first basket of the second half, but UConn emphatically responded with an 8-0 run to force an SJU timeout with the score level at 34-34 only two minutes into the second stanza. The Huskies would extend their run to 10 after the timeout and take their first lead of the half.
With the score even at 41-41, Spencer drilled a 3-pointer and then assisted on a Youssouf Singare (Bamako, Mali) bucket that gave the Huskies their largest lead since the opening minutes. Newton knocked down a deep 3-pointer at the 7:34 mark that pushed the lead back to five, seeing the Huskies up 56-51.
UConn led by four with five minutes to play in regulation, but St. John's hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take their first lead since early in the half at 63-61 with 4:15 to play. The Huskies responded with championship mettle, closing the game on an 8-2 run. Stephon Castle (Covington, Ga.) had a pair of buckets in the game-winning surge while Newton and Hassan Diarra (Queens, N.Y.) each hit clutch free throws to seal the win.
Inside The Numbers
- UConn out-shot St. John's 42.9 percent to 38.5 percent
- The Huskies held a narrow 37-34 edge in the rebounding battle, led by nine rebounds from Newton and seven for Castle
- Connecticut out-scored St. John's 36-24 in the paint and 17-11 in second chance points
- Johnson's career-high 16 points came on 7-of-10 shooting, including five dunks
- The Huskies finished with 15 assists on 24 made field goals
News and Notes
- UConn is 2-0 this season coming off a loss
- The Huskies improved to 32-37 all-time against St. John's
- UConn improves to 4-0 at the XL Center this season and 7-0 overall at home
- Castle made his first start since Nov. 11 at Stonehill, while Johnson was in the starting five for the first time this season and first since last year's opener
- Johnson scored in double-figures for the fourth time this season, a feat he did not achieve in his first two seasons
- It was also the first time in his career Johnson has led UConn in scoring
- Singare's lay-up midway through the second half was his first career points
Up Next
The Huskies are off until 2024 when they return to action at Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 2 to take on DePaul.
