NEW YORK — Tyrese Martin helped make the UConn males’s basketball group’s return common season play within the Huge Apple a hit.
No. 24 UConn beat St. John’s 63-60 Sunday afternoon at Madison Sq. Backyard in its first recreation towards the Pink Storm right here in 9 years.
Martin scored all 17 of his factors after halftime,-including a tip with 20 seconds left within the recreation that put his group forward 61-57. Andre Jackson added a career-high 16 rebounds for the Huskies.
“We needed to present plenty of resolve,” UConn coach Dan Hurley mentioned.
The Huskies debuted a brand new look, carrying black uniforms for the primary time.
UConn (17-7, 8-5 Huge East) had misplaced three of its final 4 video games. The win offers the Huskies a sweep of the common season sequence with the Pink Storm. UConn received 86-78 in extra time on Jan. 12 in Storrs
Adama Sanogo didn’t have his greatest recreation for the Huskies however got here up with an enormous defensive play within the remaining minute as his group clung to a two-point lead. He blocked Dylan Addae-Wusu’s shot on a drive to the basket with 52 seconds to play, a rejection that was the Huskies’ thirteenth of the afternoon.
St. John’s (13-11, 5-8) pulled inside one on an Aaron Wheeler 3-pointer with 14 seconds to play, however R.J. Cole drilled two free throws to increase UConn’s benefit again to 3 with 12.2 to go.
One other Wheeler 3-point try on the buzzer was simply off its mark, thanks partly to some powerful protection by Martin on the play.
St. John’s stars Julian Champagnie (hip) and Posh Alexander (ankle) are each coping with accidents, and the latter sat out Saturday’s recreation. Champagnie, nonetheless, who almost single-handedly beat the Huskies within the first assembly this season between the groups, gave it a go.
Champagnie had 13 factors and 11 rebounds.
UConn led by one at halftime after two of its starters, Sanogo and Martin, had been restricted by foul hassle to solely seven minutes on the courtroom every.
Martin obtained scorching, although, within the second half and drilled three 3-pointers in a two-minute span to assist UConn attempt to draw back.
A Jordan Hawkins 3-pointer gave UConn a 48-44 lead with 11 minutes to play within the recreation, however the Pink Storm wouldn’t concede. The hosts scored eight straight factors from there, forcing Hurley to name day out with 8:23 to go.
The run grew to 11-0 and the St. John’s result in 55-48 earlier than the Huskies got here again with 11 straight factors of their very own — one other Martin 3-pointer and an enormous offensive rebound and put-back by Whaley highlighting the spurt.
Sanogo scored the Huskies’ first six factors however for the second straight recreation he was in early foul hassle. The sophomore huge man was referred to as for 2 fouls within the recreation’s first 10 minutes, forcing him to spend the remainder of the half on the bench.
The Huskies had been additionally hampered by one more technical foul _ they had been whistled for 2 in Friday night time’s loss to Xavier _ when Martin and St. John’s guard Montez Mathis had been every referred to as for one with 13:06 to play within the half. The “T” counted as Martin’s second foul within the recreation, and he was relegated to the bench for the half’s period as effectively.
Although UConn led for a lot of the opening half, neither facet was in a position to pull forward by greater than 5 factors.
Cole, as he typically does, saved his group a nostril in entrance by scoring 10 first-half factors because the Huskies took a 30-29 lead on the break.
Though UConn remained a comparatively frequent customer to the Backyard throughout its days within the American Athletic Convention, this was the Huskies’ first Huge East recreation towards St. John’s right here since Feb. 6, 2013.
Neill covers UConn males’s basketball and UConn soccer groups, and he retains a finger on the heartbeat of Connecticut sports activities. For reside recreation updates, and extra perception into UConn athletics, participant transfers, and group modifications, comply with Neill on Twitter: @NeillOstrout, Fb: JINeillO, and Instagram: @NeillOstrout.