St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
No. 23/20 Connecticut
Men's Hoops Falls to No. 23 Connecticut, 68-46
2/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2005
By DONNA TOMMELLEO
AP Sports Writer
STORRS, Conn. (AP) - Rashad Anderson scored 21 points and Josh Boone blocked a career-high nine shots to lead No. 23 Connecticut to a 68-46 victory over St. John's on Saturday.
The Huskies (14-5, 6-3 Big East) were outrebounded for just the second time this season (40-41), but came up big everywhere else. The Red Storm (8-11, 2-7) shot just 27 percent in their lowest scoring game of the season, going nearly 11 minutes without a field goal in the second half and was 0-12 from 3-point range.
St. John's has lost seven of its last nine and is still looking for its first conference road win in two years.
Daryll Hill, the Big East's top scorer, led St. John's with 22 points and Eugene Lawrence grabbed 10 boards.
Boone finished with seven points and eight boards, all on the defensive end.
UConn opened with a 5-0 run and never trailed. Anderson and Denham Brown, who finished with 17 points, had four of UConn's six 3-pointers in the game. Their perimeter offense helped counter nearly every Red Storm threat.
Hill's floater 7:43 before halftime pulled the Red Storm within one at 20-19, but the Huskies quickly countered to open up an 11-point lead at the break. They pounded the ball inside to Boone on the next two possessions and he made three of four foul shots, then Anderson followed with a 3-pointer for a 26-21 lead. Hilton Armstrong's layup with 37 seconds left gave UConn a 34-23 advantage at the half.
Hill and Dexter Gray opened the second half with transition buckets for the Red Storm, but that was their last semblance of momentum. The Huskies went on a 15-3 run and the Red Storm missed their next 19 shots. When Hill finally hit the team's next field goal with 8:15 remaining, the Huskies were cruising with a 49-32 lead.
The Red Storm lead the series 32-22, but Connecticut has won six of the last eight meetings.
