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St. John’s Red Storm, Rick Pitino secure third straight win vs. UConn
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- St. John’s Red Storm, Rick Pitino secure third straight win vs. UConn
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On Friday night at Madison Square Garden, No. 22 St. John's men's basketball team (18-5, 11-1 Big East) ended No. 3 UConn 's (22-2, 12-1 Big East) 18-game winning streak, claiming an 81-72 victory in front of a sold-out MSG crowd of 19,812. The win was the Red Storm 's ninth in a row and their biggest top-three scalp since beating No. 3 Villanova in 2021. It also gave head coach Rick Pitino his 903rd career victory, tying him with Roy Williams for third all-time in Division I history.
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With the victory, St. John's moved within half a game of first-place UConn in the Big East standings and made it three straight wins against the Huskies, the first such streak since 1999-2000.
The nail-biting Big East contest involved eight lead changes and six ties, with the score knotted at 39 at halftime. The Huskies built an early 16-10 advantage behind Tarris Reed Jr. and Braylon Mullins , but St. John's responded shortly after. Zuby Ejiofor drove a 9-0 run, giving the Red Storm a 19-16 lead with 11:40 remaining in the first half. UConn went nearly four minutes without a field goal until Silas Demary Jr.'s layup, but turnovers hurt the Huskies, with eight in the opening period and 15 overall, contributing to 20 St. John's points.
Ejiofor shone on both ends for the Red Storm, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds, a career-high seven assists, three blocks, and two steals. He became the ninth all-time in the program history for career blocks (132), surpassing George Johnson. Dillon Mitchell scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, while Bryce Hopkins added 14 points and six rebounds for his eighth double-digit scoring effort in the last nine games. The St. John's starting frontcourt combined for 50 points on 65.4 percent shooting, 22 rebounds, and 11 assists.
UConn's Demary Jr. led the Huskies with 18 points and seven rebounds but also committed nine turnovers, undermining his team's efforts to mount a comeback. Alex Karaban had 17 points, accompanied by 12 from Reed and 11 from Mullins. UConn actually outshot the Red Storm from the field (54.7% to 50%) and beyond the arc (47.4% to 26.3%), but the Huskies could not overcome the St. John's defensive pressure and strong free-throw performance, going just 5-of-12 from the line compared to the Red Storm's 22-of-31.
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Up next, the Red Storm return home to MSG on Monday to welcome Xavier, while UConn visits Butler for a rematch at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday.
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