It was everything you could have imagined and more. A Friday night in a sold-out Madison Square Garden between No. 22 St. John’s and No. 3 UConn with the outcome up for grabs entering the final four minutes.
Alex Karban cut what was an 11-point Red Storm lead down to two, 69-67, with 3:39 remaining but then it was the closer for the Johnnies, Dylan Darling, who hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession that pushed the lead to five.
A turnover by Silas Demary turned into a hook shot by Zuby Ejiofor which allowed St. John’s to eventually get its biggest victory of the season, 81-72, against the Huskies.
“You just can have no fear of failure,” Rick Pitino said after the game about his pregame message to his team. “We’re definitely going to win this.”
It was a message that continued throughout the second half as UConn (22-2, 12-1 Big East) attempted to make its comeback.
Darling finished with nine points and two assists – all coming in the second half – while the Red Storm (18-5, 11-1 Big East) shot 60.9-percent from the field after halftime and 50.0-percent for the game.
Demary made it a four-point game, 76-72, with 1:16 left and was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. He also missed the front end of a one-and-one with 47.7 seconds remaining that could have cut the St. John’s lead to three, but the Huskies would never score again.
St. John’s was able to salt the game away at the free throw line with Bryce Hopkins and Zuby Ejiofor.
Hopkins, again, turned things on in the second half and finished with 14 points and six rebounds while Ejiofor looked like an All-American with 21 points, ten rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.
Dillon Mitchell proved to be a matchup nightmare that everyone anticipated with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, and steal.
The Red Storm forced Silas Demary into nine turnovers as the Huskies coughed it up 15 times in the game which resulted in 20 points from St. John’s.
St. John’s started fast in a back-and-forth affair in the first half that saw four ties and six lead changes. UConn ended the opening stanza on a 6-2 run that tied things at 39 going into the locker room.
The victory marks nine straight wins for St. John’s and its third straight victory over UConn, which is the most against the Huskies since beating them three times in the 1999-2000 season.
It’ll be a quick turnaround for the Red Storm against Xavier (12-11, 4-8 Big East) on Monday night (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1) as Rick Pitino looks to pass Roy Williams for third place on the NCAA Division I all-time wins list.
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