UConn hands St. John's largest defeat of Pitino era

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Tarris Reed Jr. had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, and No. 6 UConn held 15th-ranked St. John's to 20% shooting in a 72-40 blowout Wednesday night that snapped the Red Storm’s 13-game winning streak.

Alex Karaban added 14 points and five rebounds for the Huskies, who moved back into first place in the Big East by avenging an 81-72 loss to St. John's at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 6.

St. John's missed 12 consecutive shots in the first half and then its final 24 field goal attempts of the game as the Huskies (26-3, 16-2) romped to their most lopsided victory in series history.

It was by far the largest defeat for the Johnnies in three seasons under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, and their fewest points in a game since scoring 40 against Notre Dame in March 2013.

Solo Ball had 11 points and four assists for UConn, and Silas Demary Jr. provided seven points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Joson Sanon scored all 10 of his points in the first half for St. John (22-6, 15-2), which fell a half-game behind UConn in the conference standings. The team's 13-game winning streak was its longest in 41 years.

Zuby Ejiofor had two quick baskets for the Red Storm early in the second half, but the Huskies scored nine straight points. A driving layup by Karaban put them up by 23 with 13:42 left.

Braylon Mullins had six points and Karaban scored five during UConn's 18-0 run in the first half. A driving layup by Ball gave the Huskies a 33-12 lead.

Sanon had 10 of the next 12 points for St. John's as the Red Storm began to cut into the lead. Reed grabbed his own miss and kicked the ball out to Ball for a 3-pointer, and the Huskies went into halftime leading 41-26.

UConn's starters outscored the Red Storm's starting five 61-28, and the Huskies outscored St. John's 42-14 in the paint.

Up next

St. John's hosts Villanova at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

UConn hosts Seton Hall on Saturday.

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