No. 1 UConn wins 10th straight, beats St. John's 77-64 at MSG without injured Alex Karaban
NEW YORK (AP) Even on the road without starting forward Alex Karaban, top-ranked UConn had plenty of answers.
Cam Spencer scored 23 points, freshman Stephon Castle added a season-best 21 and Connecticut pulled away from St. John's for a 77-64 victory Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
“Obviously, thrilled with the win. All things considered, I didn’t imagine we could play as well, as tough as we did, without Alex. He’s kind of like the brain center of the program,” coach Dan Hurley said. “Alex is like the ultimate problem solver.”
Tristen Newton had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the defending national champion Huskies (20-2, 10-1 Big East), minus an injured Karaban, overcame foul trouble for 7-foot-2 center Donovan Clingan to win their 10th straight game. The streak began Dec. 23 with a 69-65 victory over St. John’s at home.
“Everybody contributed,” Newton said. “It's not a one-man show.”
Daniss Jenkins scored 19 for the scuffling Red Storm (13-9, 5-6), who were outrebounded 38-23. They have dropped five of six after opening 4-1 in conference play during their first season under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
Leading scorer Joel Soriano was held to six points on 2-of-6 shooting and four rebounds - well below his season averages.
“I think Daniss is playing at a high level. Unfortunately, nobody else is,” Pitino said.
With a sold-out crowd of 19,812 split between fans of both teams, Chris Ledlum's fast-break dunk off a steal gave St. John's its final lead at 46-45 with 13:15 remaining.
Spencer answered with a 3-pointer to put the Huskies back in front. Newton converted a three-point play and Castle sank two free throws to complete an 8-0 run.
Castle scored 20 points in Wednesday night's win over Providence, his previous high.
“What freshman in the country is playing better than him?” Hurley said.
Spencer then capped the decisive 24-8 surge with another 3 that gave UConn its largest lead, 69-54, with 6:40 left.
“It was a great performance by them, at every phase of the game,” Pitino said. “They don’t have a real weakness.”
Castle had 12 points in the first half but a jumper by Nahiem Alleyne, who transferred to St. John's after helping UConn win the 2023 national title, sent the Red Storm into the locker room with a 37-36 edge.
MISSING YOU
A game-time decision, Karaban (sprained right ankle) was ruled out before tipoff. He got hurt early against Providence and missed six minutes of the first half, but returned to the court and scored 12 points in 34 minutes. The 6-foot-8 sophomore is third on the team in scoring (14.5 points per game) and rebounding (5.8 per game).
BIG PICTURE
UConn: Went 20 for 22 (90.9%) at the free-throw line and improved to 4-0 at Madison Square Garden this season. The Huskies will be back next month for the Big East Tournament before trying to become the first program since Florida in 2007 to repeat as national champions.
St. John’s: Finished 4 of 14 (28.6%) from 3-point range and fell to 9-3 at home this season.
UP NEXT
UConn: Will host Butler on Tuesday night. Connecticut is 8-0 in the series, which started with a matchup in the 2011 NCAA championship game. Minus an injured Clingan, the Huskies rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to win 88-81 at Butler on Jan. 5.
St. John's: Hosts last-place DePaul on Tuesday night in its first Big East home game at UBS Arena, home of the NHL's New York Islanders. Pitino bobbleheads will be given to the first 4,000 fans.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Donovan Clingan vs. Joel Soriano (Chris Ledlum gains possession) | |||
19:48 | +3 | Daniss Jenkins makes three point pullup jump shot | 0-3 | |
19:31 | Tristen Newton misses three point jump shot | |||
19:29 | Donovan Clingan offensive rebound | |||
19:11 | Stephon Castle turnover (bad pass) (Daniss Jenkins steals) | |||
19:04 | Tristen Newton personal foul (Chris Ledlum draws the foul) | |||
18:53 | Donovan Clingan blocks Joel Soriano's two point layup | |||
18:51 | Donovan Clingan defensive rebound | |||
18:37 | +3 | Stephon Castle makes three point jump shot (Tristen Newton assists) | 3-3 | |
18:19 | Jordan Dingle misses two point jump shot | |||
18:17 | Cam Spencer defensive rebound | |||
18:13 | Brady Dunlap blocks Stephon Castle's two point layup | |||
18:13 | Huskies offensive rebound | |||
18:05 | Hassan Diarra turnover (bad pass) (Brady Dunlap steals) | |||
17:58 | Brady Dunlap turnover (lost ball) (Hassan Diarra steals) | |||
17:53 | +2 | Stephon Castle makes two point cutting layup (Hassan Diarra assists) | 5-3 | |
17:35 | +2 | Jordan Dingle makes two point jump shot (Daniss Jenkins assists) | 5-5 | |
17:08 | +2 | Tristen Newton makes two point pullup jump shot | 7-5 | |
16:51 | Chris Ledlum misses three point jump shot | |||
16:49 | Tristen Newton defensive rebound | |||
16:43 | +3 | Cam Spencer makes three point jump shot (Tristen Newton assists) | 10-5 | |
16:13 | Jordan Dingle misses three point jump shot | |||
16:11 | Cam Spencer defensive rebound | |||
16:05 | +2 | Donovan Clingan makes two point cutting dunk (Cam Spencer assists) | 12-5 | |
15:41 | Jordan Dingle turnover (lost ball) (Tristen Newton steals) | |||
15:28 | +2 | Donovan Clingan makes two point layup (Stephon Castle assists) | 14-5 | |
15:16 | +2 | Daniss Jenkins makes two point driving layup | 14-7 | |
15:02 | Hassan Diarra turnover (double dribble) | |||
15:02 | TV timeout | |||
14:42 | +3 | Brady Dunlap makes three point jump shot (Jordan Dingle assists) | 14-10 | |
14:11 | Samson Johnson misses two point hook shot | |||
14:09 | Stephon Castle offensive rebound | |||
14:08 | Zuby Ejiofor blocks Stephon Castle's two point layup | |||
14:06 | Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound | |||
14:00 | +3 | Daniss Jenkins makes three point stepback jump shot | 14-13 | |
13:25 | Tristen Newton misses two point jump shot | |||
13:23 | Solomon Ball offensive rebound | |||
13:21 | +2 | Solomon Ball makes two point jump shot | 16-13 | |
13:02 | +3 | Daniss Jenkins makes three point jump shot (Zuby Ejiofor assists) | 16-16 | |
12:31 | Tristen Newton turnover (bad pass) (Chris Ledlum steals) | |||
12:27 | Stephon Castle shooting foul (Chris Ledlum draws the foul) | |||
12:27 | Chris Ledlum misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
12:27 | +1 | Chris Ledlum makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 16-17 | |
12:01 | RJ Luis Jr. personal foul (Tristen Newton draws the foul) | |||
11:41 | Zuby Ejiofor shooting foul (Tristen Newton draws the foul) | |||
11:41 | TV timeout | |||
11:41 | +1 | Tristen Newton makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 17-17 | |
11:41 | +1 | Tristen Newton makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 18-17 | |
11:20 | Donovan Clingan shooting foul (Joel Soriano draws the foul) | |||
11:20 | Joel Soriano misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
11:20 | Joel Soriano misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
11:20 | Tristen Newton defensive rebound | |||
10:59 | Tristen Newton misses three point jump shot | |||
10:57 | RJ Luis Jr. defensive rebound | |||
10:41 | Joel Soriano misses two point hook shot | |||
10:39 | Donovan Clingan defensive rebound | |||
10:29 | Stephon Castle misses two point layup | |||
10:27 | RJ Luis Jr. defensive rebound | |||
10:20 | +2 | RJ Luis Jr. makes two point driving layup | 18-19 | |
9:45 | Jaylin Stewart misses three point jump shot | |||
9:43 | Chris Ledlum defensive rebound | |||
9:28 | Daniss Jenkins misses three point jump shot | |||
9:26 | Donovan Clingan defensive rebound | |||
9:20 | +2 | Tristen Newton makes two point driving layup | 20-19 | |
9:07 | Red Storm 30 second timeout | |||
8:53 | Donovan Clingan blocks Chris Ledlum's two point layup | |||
8:51 | Red Storm offensive rebound | |||
8:48 | Hassan Diarra shooting foul (Daniss Jenkins draws the foul) | |||
8:48 | +1 | Daniss Jenkins makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 20-20 | |
8:48 | +1 | Daniss Jenkins makes regular free throw 2 of 3 | 20-21 | |
8:48 | Daniss Jenkins misses regular free throw 3 of 3 | |||
8:48 | Jaylin Stewart defensive rebound | |||
8:33 | Cam Spencer misses three point jump shot | |||
8:29 | Huskies offensive rebound | |||
8:16 | Stephon Castle misses two point jump shot | |||
8:14 | Glenn Taylor Jr. defensive rebound | |||
8:08 | Jordan Dingle misses three point jump shot | |||
8:06 | Chris Ledlum offensive rebound | |||
8:05 | Chris Ledlum turnover (lost ball) (Cam Spencer steals) | |||
7:58 | Daniss Jenkins blocks Cam Spencer's two point layup | |||
7:56 | Jordan Dingle defensive rebound | |||
7:54 | Jaylin Stewart shooting foul (Glenn Taylor Jr. draws the foul) | |||
7:54 | TV timeout | |||
7:54 | +1 | Glenn Taylor Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 20-22 | |
7:54 | +1 | Glenn Taylor Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 20-23 | |
7:41 | +2 | Tristen Newton makes two point driving layup | 22-23 | |
7:20 | Joel Soriano misses two point jump shot | |||
7:18 | Hassan Diarra defensive rebound | |||
6:58 | Hassan Diarra misses two point jump shot | |||
6:56 | Daniss Jenkins defensive rebound | |||
6:46 | Donovan Clingan personal foul (Joel Soriano draws the foul) | |||
6:36 | RJ Luis Jr. misses two point layup | |||
6:34 | Joel Soriano offensive rebound | |||
6:34 | +2 | Joel Soriano makes two point putback dunk | 22-25 | |
6:10 | Cam Spencer misses two point jump shot | |||
6:08 | RJ Luis Jr. defensive rebound | |||
6:02 | +2 | RJ Luis Jr. makes two point pullup jump shot | 22-27 | |
5:51 | Huskies 30 second timeout | |||
5:36 | +2 | Samson Johnson makes two point running alley-oop dunk (Tristen Newton assists) | 24-27 | |
5:05 | Cam Spencer blocks RJ Luis Jr.'s two point jump shot | |||
5:03 | Stephon Castle defensive rebound | |||
4:54 | Tristen Newton misses two point layup | |||
4:53 | Red Storm defensive rebound | |||
4:39 | Jordan Dingle misses two point layup | |||
4:37 | Cam Spencer defensive rebound | |||
4:30 | +2 | Stephon Castle makes two point dunk (Tristen Newton assists) | 26-27 | |
3:59 | +2 | Jordan Dingle makes two point cutting layup (Joel Soriano assists) | 26-29 | |
3:46 | +3 | Cam Spencer makes three point jump shot (Tristen Newton assists) | 29-29 | |
3:24 | Daniss Jenkins misses two point layup | |||
3:22 | Tristen Newton defensive rebound | |||
3:22 | Daniss Jenkins personal foul (Tristen Newton draws the foul) | |||
3:22 | TV timeout | |||
2:53 | +2 | Stephon Castle makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | 31-29 | |
2:32 | +2 | Chris Ledlum makes two point driving layup (Daniss Jenkins assists) | 31-31 | |
2:32 | Jaylin Stewart shooting foul (Chris Ledlum draws the foul) | |||
2:32 | +1 | Chris Ledlum makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 31-32 | |
2:08 | Daniss Jenkins shooting foul (Tristen Newton draws the foul) | |||
2:08 | +1 | Tristen Newton makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 32-32 | |
2:08 | +1 | Tristen Newton makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 33-32 | |
1:47 | +2 | Nahiem Alleyne makes two point jump shot (Joel Soriano assists) | 33-34 | |
1:17 | +3 | Stephon Castle makes three point jump shot (Cam Spencer assists) | 36-34 | |
0:56 | Samson Johnson personal foul (Jordan Dingle draws the foul) | |||
0:56 | +1 | Jordan Dingle makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 36-35 | |
0:56 | Jordan Dingle misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
0:55 | Huskies defensive rebound | |||
0:55 | Glenn Taylor Jr. personal foul (Stephon Castle draws the foul) | |||
0:36 | Tristen Newton turnover (bad pass) (Joel Soriano steals) | |||
0:33 | Tristen Newton blocks Nahiem Alleyne's two point layup | |||
0:31 | Red Storm offensive rebound | |||
0:29 | +2 | Nahiem Alleyne makes two point jump shot (Jordan Dingle assists) | 36-37 | |
0:00 | End of period |