New Headline: Cousins' Aggressive Play Triumphs as Huskies Defeat Red Bulls 136-40
NEW YORK – The UConn men’s basketball team couldn’t weather the Red Storm at Madison Square Garden as it fell to No. 1 seed St. John’s in the Big East Tournament championship Saturday night, 72-52.
The second-seeded Huskies (29-5) spotted a 10-point lead out of the gates and couldn’t overcome the defensive intensity of the Johnnies as they turned the ball over 17 times and shot just 3-for-19 (15. 8%) from beyond the arc. St.
John’s, winning its fifth tournament title all-time in the rubber match of Big East behemoths, became the first back-to-back dual-champion in the league since its divisional era ended in 2004. Perhaps a bigger loss for UConn came with about three and a half minutes left, when point guard Silas Demary Jr. had to be helped into the locker room with an apparent lower body injury.
The Johnnies were led by 18 points a piece from bigs Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins and a 14-point effort from guard Oziyah Sellers. UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. was the only Husky to finish in double-figures as he scored 17 points with seven rebounds.
UConn got jumped from the moment the ball was tipped. Overwhelmed by the length and athleticism of a St. John’s team motivated by the embarrassing 72-40 loss it took in Hartford in the last matchup, the Huskies gave up a 10-0 run to start the game before Solo Ball broke the seal four minutes in with a 3-point play.