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The No. 3 UConn men’s basketball team fought and clawed while trying to erase a double-digit deficit Friday night at No. 22 St. John’s, but the Huskies ultimately came up short. The Red Storm prevailed 81-72, ending UConn’s 18-game winning streak. The Huskies fell to 22-2 this season and will surely drop in the national rankings on Monday.

The No. 3 UConn men’s basketball team fought and clawed while trying to erase a double-digit deficit Friday night at No. 22 St. John’s, but the Huskies ultimately came up short.

The Red Storm prevailed 81-72, ending UConn’s 18-game winning streak. The Huskies fell to 22-2 this season and will surely drop in the national rankings on Monday.

After suffering its first loss in Big East play, UConn’s conference record is 12-1. That’s only a half-game better than St. John’s, which improved to 11-1 in league play and extended its winning streak to nine games.

Led by Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, the 18-5 Red Storm haven’t lost in over a month and took control of Friday’s nationally televised contest in the second half.

The game was tied at 39 at halftime, but St. John’s exploded out of the intermission, quickly grabbing an 11-point lead in a loud and sold-out Madison Square Garden.

Outside of making free throws and taking care of the ball, UConn did everything it could to get back into the game. The Huskies even pulled within one point of the Red Storm in the final minutes.

UConn showed tremendous grit, but it wasn’t enough.

Despite their valiant effort, turnovers and missed free throws were the bane of the Huskies’ existence Friday.

UConn finished the game missing seven of its 12 free throws, shooting just 42% from the line.

Senior UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. scored 12 points but missed four of those free throws. The other three were missed by junior guard Silas Demary Jr., including several in crunch time.

Reed and Demary were the only UConn players to get to the free throw line on Friday, much to the chagrin of head coach Dan Hurley, who was constantly in the ears of the officials.

UConn also turned the ball over 15 times, nine of which Demary was responsible for.

Despite those mistakes, Demary carried the Huskies on Friday, especially as they mounted their comeback bid.

Demary led UConn with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists and delivered multiple clutch baskets late in the second half.

Even while the Huskies lost, Demary’s emphatic, posterizing slam over a St. John’s defender during UConn’s rally should go down as one of the best dunks in program history.

Senior forward Alex Karaban also shined for UConn on Friday. He finished the game with 17 points and made three of his four three-point attempts.

Braylon Mullins, the Huskies’ star freshman guard, started out hot with several quick baskets but contributed just 11 points on the night.

Junior guard Solo Ball looked better compared to his recent play but scored only eight points.

No one from the UConn bench contributed more than two points, which was a problem, considering that the St. John’s bench mustered 15 points.

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Junior guard Dylan Darling came off the bench for the Red Storm and finished the game strong. He hit several daggers as the action got tight late and ended with nine points.

Senior St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor – who is the top candidate for Big East Player of the Year and leads his team in points, rebounds, assists and blocks – was clearly the best player on the floor Friday.

He finished the game with 21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.

Senior forward Dillon Mitchell also had an outstanding game for the Red Storm, scoring 15 points, while senior forward and known UConn killer Bryce Hopkins contributed 14 points.

UConn shot surprisingly well from the field in the loss, making nine of its 19 three-point attempts and shooting 55% overall.

St. John’s shot just 50% from the floor and 26% from three-point land, but by forcing UConn to commit an uncharacteristic number of turnovers, the Red Storm limited the Huskies’ opportunities.

Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City was electric, as was expected for this matchup between the Big East’s best two teams.

The arena UConn fans call “Storrs South” did not provide the home court advantage the team is accustomed to, as the St. John’s faithful made up much of the crowd.

The Huskies are back in action on Wednesday at Butler. The 7:30 p.m. game airs on TNT/TRUTV.

St. John’s next plays at home on Sunday against Xavier at 6:30 p.m. on FS1.

UConn and St. John’s will face off again on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford should be rocking that evening for a game that will have major conference championship implications.

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Dalton Zbierski is a story desk editor and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at [email protected].

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