Joel Soriano totaled 19 points and 13 rebounds as St. John’s held No. 6 UConn to three field goals in the final seven-plus minutes and pulled away for an 85-74 victory on Sunday afternoon in Hartford, Conn.
The Red Storm (13-6, 3-5 Big East) won their second straight following a five-game losing streak. St. John’s also won its first game at the XL Center Hartford since Feb. 29, 1988, and earned its first road win over a top-10 team since a one-point win at No. 10 Marquette on Feb. 5, 2019.
Soriano posted his NCAA-best 16th double-double. It is the most by a Red Storm player since Zendon Hamilton also had 16 in 1995-96, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Soriano scored 13 of his points in the second half when the Red Storm outscored the Huskies 47-36.
Posh Alexander and AJ Storr added 14 points apiece as St. John’s shot 55.2 percent in the second half and 51.7 percent overall. Dylan Addae-Wusu and Rafael Pinzon contributed 12 points each while Andre Curbelo chipped in 10 for the Red Storm.
Jordan Hawkins scored a career-high 31 points but also committed seven of UConn’s season-high 21 turnovers. Alex Karaban added 16 points and Adama Sanogo chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds, but the Huskies (15-4, 4-4) shot 41.8 percent and lost for the fourth time in five games since getting off to a 14-0 start.
Hawkins scored UConn’s first 11 points and had 14 points as the Huskies raced to a 16-8 lead on his 3-pointer with about 13 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half.
St. John’s took its first lead when Storr hit a 3-pointer to make it 23-22 with 7:40 left. A hoop by David Jones right before the horn forged a 38-38 tie at halftime.
Soriano’s jumper opened a 48-42 lead with 16:24 remaining and his two free throws made it 54-47 with 14:02 left.
Hawkins’ layup moved the Huskies within 64-60 at the 7:54 mark, but St. John’s took its first double-digit lead when Storr hit two free throws to make it 70-60 with 6:29 left.
Soriano’s jumper at the foul line gave St. John’s a 73-60 lead with just under four minutes left and Alexander’s layup opened a 78-62 edge two minutes later.
–Field Level Media
