St. John’s Edged by No. 5/5 UConn, 69-65, in Hartford

Saturday, December 23

8 p.m.

St. John's University

8-4,1-1Big East

No. 5/5 UConn

11-2,1-1Big East

St. John's (NY)

UConn

St. John’s Edged by No. 5/5 UConn, 69-65, in Hartford

12/24/2023 12:06:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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Red Storm senior center Joel Soriano recorded eighth double-double of the season in BIG EAST road loss to the Huskies

HARTFORD, Conn. – The St. John's men's basketball team (8-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) was edged on the road, 69-65, by No. 5/5 Connecticut (11-2, 1-1 BIG EAST) on Saturday inside the XL Center.

Red Storm senior center Joel Soriano recorded his eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Daniss Jenkins added 13 points and four assists for the Johnnies who had their two-game win streak snapped.

Sophomore RJ Luis Jr. made his return to the Red Storm lineup for the first time since Nov. 25 against Holy Cross after missing five games due to injury. The 6-foot-7 wing from Miami recorded six points, three rebounds and a pair of steals over 18 minutes of action in just his second appearance this season.

Samson Johnson led three Huskies in double figures with 16 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field. Tristen Newton and Stephon Castle added 15 apiece for UConn.

The Red Storm managed to build an six-point lead by intermission of a hard-fought BIG EAST showdown. Soriano had 10 of his 14 points before the break.

After falling behind 11-3 at the 13:44 mark, St. John's went on a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the contest on a pair of free-throws by Jenkins three minutes later. Chris Ledlum helped get the Johnnies going by scoring the team's first six points of the contest. The Brooklyn native finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

The lead would trade sides twice before the Johnnies went on an 8-0 run to bump its advantage to 22-17 on a Soriano layup with 5:47 to go in the opening half. The 6-foot-11 center scored eight of the team's final 12 points of the stanza while Jenkins converted a layup with 34 seconds on the clock to put St. John's up 32-26 at halftime.

After building its largest lead of the contest, 34-26, on a layup from Glenn Taylor Jr., 42 seconds into the second half, the Huskies answered with a 10-0 run capped by a pair of free-throws from Cam Spencer. However, a Jenkins' 3-pointer and a pair of makes from the line halted the spurt and put the Johnnies back ahead by one, 37-36, with 16:28 to play.

The Huskies grew its lead to as many as five over the next 10 minutes, but the Red Storm kept pace. Jordan Dingle and Taylor sank back-to-back 3-pointers with under five minutes to play, taking a two-point edge, 63-61, with 4:15 on the clock. Castle scored four of the Huskies' next six points to reclaim the lead they would not relinquish.

St. John's had a chance to tie the game with eight seconds remaining, but Jenkins' 3-point attempt was off the mark and the Huskies sealed the game with a free-throw from Hassan Diarra.

The Johnnies return to action next Saturday when they host Hofstra at UBS Arena. The game is slated for 12 p.m. and will be televised nationally on FS1.