St. John's Red Storm vs Connecticut Huskies Box Score on Jan 18, 2021

Five players scored in double figures for St. John's on Monday as it overcame an early 14-point deficit to upset No. 23 Connecticut 74-70 in a Big East Conference matchup in Storrs, Conn.

Posh Alexander scored 18 points and dished out six assists for the Red Storm (8-7, 3-6), while Marcellus Earlington added 15 points. Julian Champagnie was held to 12 points, eight under his average, but he canned the clinching free throws with 5.9 seconds left.

Rasheem Dunn chipped in 11, including two foul shots with 3:33 remaining that gave St. John's the lead for good at 66-64. Dylan Addae-Wusu contributed 10 points, all in the first half. The Red Storm hit 52.2 percent of their field goals in the second half.

RJ Cole scored 18 points and dished out four assists for the Huskies (7-2, 4-2), who saw their four-game winning streak end. Tyrese Martin chipped in 14 points and Adama Sanogo added 12.

Martin could have given UConn a one-point lead with 18.4 seconds left in the game, but missed two free throws after Champagnie fouled him. After Dunn made a foul shot with 14.9 seconds remaining, Tyler Polley missed on a potential go-ahead 3-pointer and Champagnie salted the game away moments later.

Cole set an immediate tone by bombing in the first of his four first-half 3-pointers 35 seconds into the game. He canned another one about 90 seconds later to start a 15-2 run that gave Connecticut a 21-7 lead at the 12:17 mark.

But St. John's finally gained some traction after coach Mike Anderson burned a 30-second timeout, going on its own 10-2 spurt that pulled it within 23-17 on Earlington's jumper with 8:50 left.

From there, the teams went back-and-forth for the half's remainder. The Red Storm got the last say as Champagnie canned two free throws after time expired to pull them within 35-32 at intermission.

The difference was 3-point shooting and rebounding in the first half. The Huskies outscored St. John's 18-3 from the arc and also produced 13 points off 10 offensive boards.

--Field Level Media