All of a sudden, the Big East is up for grabs.
St. John’s made a loud statement Friday night that it belongs in the same conversation with Connecticut, that the powerhouse Huskies are not in a weight class of their own.
This version of the Red Storm, the one that has gone from a disappointment to a March contender over the past five weeks in winning nine straight games, outlasted UConn at a raucous and sold-out Garden, 81-72.
The two teams are now tied atop the conference, with one meeting to go in Hartford, Conn., on Feb. 25.
The Johnnies closed out third-ranked UConn by locking them down on the defensive end, getting big plays from Dylan Darling, Zuby Ejiofor and Dillon Mitchell and now have an elite win to go atop their NCAA Tournament résumé.
Over the final 4:46, No. 22 St. John’s outscored Connecticut 15-7, and handed Dan Hurley’s team its first loss at full strength this season.
Ejiofor was by far the best player on the floor, finishing with an absurd line of 21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.
Mitchell followed with 15 points and six rebounds and Bryce Hopkins added 14 points and six rebounds.
Darling added nine points and two assists, all after halftime.
Alex Karaban scored 17 for Connecticut.
Connecticut sliced an 11-point St. John’s lead to one on the strength of a 16-5 run.
The Johnnies went back up by four at the under-four media timeout when Ejiofor got to the offensive rebound of a Hopkins missed free throw and set up a Mitchell layup.
When Darling sank a stepback 3-pointer deep into the shot clock, and then fed Ejiofor in the lane for a jump hook, St. John’s was up seven with 2:27 to go.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS
It was an evenly played first half.
Neither team led by more than six.
St. John’s had the longest run, a 13-1 burst, and Connecticut responded with a 9-2 spurt.
The Huskies had the decided edge from deep, making 5 of 9 3-point attempts.
The Red Storm, however, forced eight turnovers that led to 10 points and were plus-four in the paint.
Joson Sanon (six points) was the Johnnies’ best guard.
He hit a pair of 3-pointers, and Ejiofor was terrific in notching seven points, four assists and three rebounds.
Braylon Mullins and Tarris Reed Jr. scored eight points apiece for the visitors.
UConn closed the first half well despite Reed going to the bench with 2:29 left due to foul trouble.
His backup, Eric Reibe, scored four points in the closing minutes of the stanza and Oziyah Sellers missed a 3-pointer at the horn as the two teams went into the break even at 39.
St. John’s started the second half well, outscoring Connecticut 16-6 to go up by 10 with 12:46 remaining.
Hurley used two timeouts to try to stop the run.
Hopkins’ 3-pointer pushed the lead into double digits for the first time and it sounded like the top was going to come off the Garden.
The Huskies responded with back-to-back baskets as the shot clock expired, and Ejiofor sank a 3-pointer, pushing the lead back to nine.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
