St. John’s Falls to No. 18/23 UConn, 95-86

Saturday, February 25

New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

17-13,7-12Big East

No. 18/23 Connecticut

22-7,11-7Big East

UConn

St. John's (NY)

2/25/2023 3:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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AJ Storr leads Red Storm with second 20-point performance of the season in Saturday’s setback at MSG

NEW YORK – The St. John's men's basketball team fell, 95-86, to No. 18/23 UConn in its final home game of the season on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Jordan Hawkins led the Huskies with 20 points, sinking four of the team's nine 3-pointers on the afternoon. UConn managed to score 27 second chance points in the victory, as the teams split the regular-season series.

Red Storm freshman AJ Storr registered a team-high 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the floor and 5-of-8 at the free-throw line. Junior guard Posh Alexander recorded 18 points, going 7-for-12 from the field. The Brooklyn native added five assists and four rebounds in 36 minutes of action.

The Johnnies also received the 22^nd double-double of the season from senior center Joel Soriano, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Soriano drained six of his eight attempts from the line, while dishing out three assists and making two blocks. Prior to the contest, Soriano, Esahia Nyiwe and Montez Mathis were honored in a Senior Day ceremony.

Junior David Jones was the fourth Johnnie to score double figures, posting all 15 points in the second half. It marked the eighth-straight game Jones registered double digits in the scoring column.

Neither team built a lead larger than six through the opening 14 minutes of action. Soriano and Storr hit their first three shots of the contest while O'Mar Stanley capitalized on his first two attempts off the bench, including one from distance, to hang close with the Huskies.

However, UConn used a 18-9 run during a 3:40 stretch at the end of the first half to build a double-digit advantage. Joey Calcaterra finished the scoring spurt with a triple that put the Huskies up 50-35 with 1:25 on the clock. Alexander answered for the Johnnies scoring the final six points of the first half to get within nine at the break.

The Huskies scored the first six points of the second half with Adama Sanogo responsible for two buckets in the paint to help rebuild a 15-point advantage. UConn maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half. Sanogo finished with 18 points, hitting 5-of-9 attempts from the floor and going 8-for-10 at the free-throw line.

St. John's got as close as eight with 1:41 to play after Storr scored eight points over a 12-5 run.

The Red Storm wraps up the regular season on Saturday at No. 10/9 Marquette. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET at Fiserv Forum. FOX will carry the national telecast.