Kadary Richmond and RJ Luis combined to score 16 of the final 20 points Friday night for No. 12 St. John’s, which overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to beat No. 19 UConn 68-62 in Storrs, Conn.
Luis finished with a game-high 21 points and also grabbed seven rebounds for St. John’s. Richmond scored all 12 of his points after halftime and added six rebounds and six assists as the Red Storm (21-3, 12-1 Big East) won their 10th straight game.
Zuby Ejiofor and Simeon Wilcher each had 11 points to help St. John’s snap its four-game losing streak to UConn.
Liam McNeeley, who missed the previous eight games with an ankle injury, had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies (16-7, 8-4). Tarris Reed Jr. paired 12 points with 15 rebounds and Solo Ball added 13 points as UConn had its two-game winning streak snapped.
The Huskies committed 22 turnovers one game after racking up a season-high 25 giveaways in last Saturday’s win over then-No. 9 Marquette.
UConn cut an eight-point deficit to 64-62 on a pair of free throws by McNeeley with 39 seconds left. Ball blocked Wilcher’s shot with 13 seconds to go, but the ball went out of bounds and Luis drained a jumper off the inbounds pass to give the visitors a four-point cushion.
McNeeley missed a layup at the other end, and Ejiofor hit two free throws to seal the win for the Red Storm.
Ball scored 11 quick points and Jaylin Stewart added eight to help the Huskies build a 26-12 lead at the 11:38 mark of the first half. St. John’s surged back with a 25-9 run that gave the Red Storm a two-point lead at the break.
Wilcher and Luis had seven points apiece during the charge, which ended with Ejiofor converting a traditional three-point play with 58 seconds left to put St. John’s ahead 37-35. UConn was 3 of 15 from the field with seven turnovers during the Red Storm’s run.
The Huskies scored the first five points of the second half.
St. John’s pulled even at 42-42 on a pair of free throws by Richmond before missing 11 straight shots and committing three turnovers during a seven-plus minute stretch. But UConn failed to seize control during the Red Storm’s drought, managing just six points.
Luis hit a jumper with 10:54 left to end St. John’s dry spell and pull the Red Storm within 48-44.
St. John’s soon took control with a 12-0 run, which featured eight points from Richmond, to go ahead 60-52 with 3:11 to play.
–Field Level Media
