Kemba Walker returned home to New York City and put on a show for his friends and family there to watch him as he had 21 points to lead the No. 4 UConn Huskies to a 67-55 win over the St. John’s Red Storm in front of 7,545 at Madison Square Garden.
The win improves the Huskies to 16-1 (4-1) Big East and is their fourth straight while the Red Storm fall to 10-6 (1-3). It is also the first time that the Huskies won a 3-game road trip during the Jim Calhoun era.
If it weren’t for Walker’s play this game could have gone a different route for the Huskies. He came off the bench to provide some support as Jerome Dyson and A.J. Price were struggling. Walker also had 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Jeff Adrien had the 39th double-double of his career and 6th of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Hasheem Thabeet added 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. He should have had 6 but was called for a foul when he blocked a dunk. Despite his struggles, Price finished with 8 points and 5 assists.
The Red Storm were led by Paris Horne’s game-high 24 points. D.J. Kennedy had a good all-around game as he had 12 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals.
The first half was a game of runs by both teams that eventually saw UConn holding a 31-26 advantage in the final 30 seconds of the game. Instead of holding the ball for the final shot, Price made a huge mistake when he tried to throw a lob pass to Stanley Robinson and it was intercepted by the Red Storm who took it down the court and converted the basket.
Calhoun was incensed with his point guard and called a timeout. On the ensuing play, Robinson had the ball stolen at midcourt and Rob Thomas was able to convert it into two points to cut UConn’s lead to 1 at 31-30 heading into the break.
St. John’s stayed close early on in the second half until UConn’s zone defense and pressure helped them pull away. A 14-2 run by the Huskies led by Walker scoring the final 7 points that helped UConn push the lead to 51-36. The Red Storm got it back into single digits twice but Price hit both of his 3-pointers to keep the UConn lead in double figures.
It was a very physical game that saw both teams and coaches get frustrated with some of the calls. While Walker is only a freshman and his cool, calm demeanor kept the Huskies under control and helped them to the win.
The Huskies return home to XL Center on Sunday afternoon when they host the Seton Hall Pirates at 2 PM.
Notes and musings:
UConn Huskies at St. John’s Red Storm 1.15.09 box score
The starters were A.J. Price, Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson, Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet.
Former Huskies Clifford Robinson and Donyell Marshall were in the crowd at Madison Square Garden tonight.
This was the 14th game this season where Jeff Adrien scored in double digits.
It was the third game Kemba Walker where he scored 20 or more points.
This was the 6th time this year that Hasheem Thabeet has blocked more than 5 shots in a game and the 30th time in his career.
UConn shot 48.2% (25-52) while St. John’s shot 41.8% (23-55).
The Huskies had 15 assists on their 25 made baskets.
UConn dominated the glass holding a 38-25 advantage.
The Huskies didn’t take good care of the ball as they had 18 turnovers. St. John’s wasn’t much better as they had 16 of their own.
