St. John’s fights back to force overtime; ultimately falling to UConn 86-78

Despite their best effort to upset UConn on their homecourt, the Red Storm ultimately fell short, dropping this one 86-78 in overtime.

The Red Storm were plagued by poor shooting all night, only shooting a collective 34% from the field and 10% from beyond the arc. Their inability to score at times cost them in the end, albeit a strong effort at the end of regulation to upset the Huskies.

St. John’s made big plays down the stretch that allowed them to force overtime. Aaron Wheeler’s three put St. John’s within 1 point and Julian Champagnie’s contested three-point field goal gave St. John’s a 71-70 lead with under 5 seconds remaining.

UConn’s Andre Jackson inbounded the basketball following the Champagnie three, having his passed tipped out of bounds. This allowed UConn to inbound again on their own side of the court, where Adama Sanogo grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. Sanogo went to the line with 1.3 seconds remaining and his Huskies down 1. He would hit 1-of-2 foul shots, tying the score at 71, and sending the game to overtime.

Despite St. John’s heroics at the end of regulation, they were ultimately beat in the overtime frame. They were outscored 15-7 in these last five minutes and left Connecticut with another Big East loss as a result. St. John’s has yet to win away from home this season.

Julian Champagnie was a bright spot for St. John’s tonight. Champagnie seemed to shake off his poor performance at Providence, leading the Johnnies on the offensive end. He is one of the best players in the country and proved it again tonight. He finished with 27 points and hit one of the biggest shots of the game at the end of regulation.

The Johnnies struggled all night to contain Adama Sanogo. UConn’s big man made his presence felt in the paint, contributing both on the offensive and defensive end. He finished this game with 26 points, 18 rebounds, and 6 blocks. UConn also got a nice performance from guard RJ Cole who finished with 19 points and 8 assists.

St. John’s will return to action on Sunday. They will be hosting the Georgetown Hoyas at Madison Square Garden. That contest will tip at 4:30 PM.

More to come from Rumble.