St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
10-7, 3-3BE
No. 1/1 Connecticut
17-1, 5-1BE
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 30 | 20 | 50 |
| Connecticut | 31 | 35 | 66 |
Huskies Hold Off St. John's
1/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2006
STORRS, Conn. (AP) - Rudy Gay had 20 points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals and Connecticut survived its first test as the top-ranked team in a bruising 66-50 victory over St. John's on Wednesday night.
The typically physical Big East game got ugly at times. There were two technicals fouls and two players - UConn's Jeff Adrien and St. John's Aaron Spears - were ejected for fighting in the second half. Both will miss the next game in compliance with NCAA rules.
The Huskies (17-1, 5-1) moved into the top spot in The Associated Press' poll on Monday, their first appearance at No. 1 since January 2004. The Red Storm (10-7, 3-3) were coming off wins over two ranked teams and gave UConn all it could handle for all but the final 9 minutes.
That's when Gay took over.
The Red Storm had pulled within 48-44 on Daryll Hill's baseline runner with 9:38 left. When the action shifted to the Huskies' end of the court, tempers flared. Adrien and Spears had to be separated and both coaches ran out onto the court.
The Huskies responded with a 15-4 run, finally taking a double-digit lead for the first time all night. Gay had seven points in the run, including two thunderous dunks. He also had a key steal and an assist. Rashad Anderson's 3-pointer with 4:35 left capped the run and gave the Huskies a 60-48 lead.
Anderson finished with 12 points and three steals, while Josh Boone had seven blocks and eight rebounds as the Huskies finished with a 42-37 edge on the boards.
Eugene Lawrence led the Red Storm with 17 points and Hill had 13.
Lamont Hamilton, who was coming off a career-high 24 points in a 55-50 upset over previously unbeaten Pittsburgh, was held to three points before fouling out late in the game that saw 41 fouls called. The Red Storm shot 33 percent.
Lawrence keyed a 9-2 run run with his steal and coast-to-coast layup that gave the Red Storm a 31-28 lead with 7:02 left in the first half. The spurt included three free throws off UConn technical fouls. UConn coach Jim Calhoun was flagged for arguing a call and Lawrence made both free throws. Hill capped the run, making one free throw after Gay was hit with a technical for getting tangled up with Phil Missere under the Huskies' basket.
The Huskies regained the lead with a 5-0 run in the closing minutes, but Hill drained a jumper at the buzzer to bring the Red Storm within 31-30.
