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Rapid Recap: UConn downs St. John's at MSG

Rapid Recap: UConn downs St. John's at MSG

The Huskies were without a key starter but still notched a solid win.

Aman Kidwai
February 03, 2024

With Alex Karaban sitting after his ankle injury in the Providence game, the UConn Huskies prevailed in another gritty Big East battle, 77-64.

The Huskies (20-2, 10-1 Big East) jumped ahead early, mounting a 9-0 run to make it 14-7 with 15 minutes left in the first half. But St. John’s responded with an immediate 8-0 run and tied the game shortly after.

From there, the rest of the first half was a dogfight, ending with the Red Storm up by one, 37-36. The contest saw eight ties and 17 lead changes, but the Huskies took control in the middle of the second half.

Stephon Castle and Tristen Newton were leading the scoring charge from the start. Castle finished with 21 points for his second consecutive 20-point game. Newton was close to a triple-double, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.

The Huskies pulled away as Castle and Newton continued to thrive and Cam Spencer started heating up. Spencer finished with a team-high 23 points.

Next up, the Huskies are hosting Butler at the XL Center on Tuesday night. Tip-off will be at 8:30 p.m. in Hartford and the game will be televised on FS1.

Butler is 15-7 and will be riding a four-game winning streak going into the game, including wins most recently over Villanova (2OT) and on the road against Creighton.