No. 12/10 St. John’s Takes Down No. 19/18 UConn, 68-62, at Gampel Pavilion

Friday, February 7

Storrs, Conn. (Gampel Pavilion)

8 p.m.

St. John's University

21-3,12-1Big East

No. 19/18 UConn

16-7,8-4Big East

St. John's (NY)

UConn

RJ Luis Jr. went for 21 points, seven rebounds and an assist against the Huskies.

No. 12/10 St. John’s Takes Down No. 19/18 UConn, 68-62, at Gampel Pavilion

2/8/2025 12:28:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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The Red Storm men’s basketball team erased a 14-point deficit to knock off the Huskies and earn 10th straight win

STORRS, Conn. – The No. 12/10 St. John's men's basketball team (21-3, 12-1 BIG earned a pivotal road win at No. 19/18 UConn (16-7, 8-4 BIG EAST), 68-62, in a Friday showdown in Storrs, Conn.

The Johnnies came all the way back from a 14-point deficit before a hostile sold-out crowd of 12,299 at Gampel Pavilion to earn their 10^th straight BIG EAST victory. St. John's has now won 16 of its last 17 games and earned back-to-back top-20 victories in the same week for the first time since 2018.

The Red Storm unleashed a stout defensive effort midway through the second half, forcing eight turnovers in just over five minutes that fueled a decisive 12-0 to reclaim the lead for good. In the final moments of the game, RJ Luis Jr. delivered the dagger with a baseline jumper off an out of bounds play with 11 seconds on the clock to put St. John's up four.

Luis finished with 21 points to pace the Johnnies and scored eight points in the final 2:16. The 20-point effort marked the junior's seventh of the season. Luis also grabbed seven rebounds and shot 10-for-15 inside the 3-point arc.

Kadary Richmond added 12 points all in the second half and played an integral role with timely buckets down the stretch. The graduate student from Brooklyn finished with six rebounds and five assists.

Simeon Wilcher tallied his 10^th double-figure scoring effort of the year ending the night with 11 points. Zuby Ejiofor was the fourth St. John's player to finish in double-digits tallying 11 points while shooting 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

The Red Storm dominated in turnover margin (+15) committing only seven, while forcing UConn into 22 turnovers. The Johnnies outscored the Huskies 18-2 in points off turnovers.

Liam McNeeley led the Huskies in his return from injury with 18 points. Tarris Reed Jr. finished with a double-double recording 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Early in the first half, the Huskies used an 11-0 scoring run that was capped off by a triple from Jaylin Stewart to take a 21-8 advantage at the 14:22 mark. Connecticut extended its lead to as many as 14 after Solo Ball hit a 3-pointer as the Huskies started off 5-for-9 from long-range.

After the under-12 media timeout, Deivon Smith jumpstarted the comeback with a four-point play, flushing a triple through the contact to turn the tides. Wilcher got the mid-range jumper to go, concluding an 8-0 run as the Red Storm quickly got within six, 26-20. Soon after, Smith dished to Ejiofor for the fastbreak slam before Luis finished in the paint to close a 7-0 run and quickly bring the deficit to a single-point, 28-27.

With the game back in the balance and the Huskies ahead by four, Wilcher corralled a long offensive rebound and splashed a triple from the corner. It was the sophomore once again that gave St. John's its first lead of the evening, 34-33, with a layup through the lane at 2:29. Ejiofor came up with a big and-one in the final minute to give the Johnnies a two-point edge, 37-35, heading into the break.

The Huskies tallied the first five points of the second half before Wilcher quieted the crowd with a make from beyond-the-arc to knot the score at 40 at the 18:20 mark. Both offenses sputtered as the game remained neck-and-neck. McNeeley got a heave at the end of the shot clock to fall before Luis responded with a mid-range make at the 10:54 mark.

Trailing by five with just under 10 minutes remaining, the Johnnies continued to wreak havoc defensively forcing six turnovers in a four-minute span that led directly to six points. After Luis tied the score at 52 apiece, another Huskies' miscue gave the Red Storm possession. Richmond capitalized with a made jumper as the Johnnies captured their first lead since halftime, 54-52, with 5:30 remaining. St. John's wouldn't stop there as a Richmond made a steal at midcourt and turned it into a putback by Scott as the run ballooned to as many as 12-0.

Down the stretch, after a free throws from Richmond that extended the advantage to eight, 60-52, UConn responded quickly chopping its deficit to four before Luis retaliated with a mid-range make.

McNeeley hit four free throws to bring the Huskies' deficit down to just two, 64-62, with 33 seconds remaining. On an out-of-bounds play, Luis got free on the baseline and received a dish from Richmond. The Miami native rose up and knocked down a crucial shot with 11 seconds on the clock to seal the victory.

The Huskies hurried down the floor and missed a lay-up on their final possession as the Red Storm earned its first victory inside Gampel Pavilion since Jan. 18, 2021.

St. John's will be back in action on Wednesday when it travels to Villanova for a 6 p.m. tip at Finneran Pavilion. FS1 will carry the national telecast.