HARTFORD, Conn. — The game, and the national buzz that would come along with it, was there for the taking.
A six-point halftime lead. Connecticut star Donovan Clingan unavailable due to a foot injury. The Huskies struggling against the St. John’s zone.
All it would have taken was a few more made shots.
Some good fortune.
Neither happened in a frustrating second half.
So St. John’s heads into the weeklong Christmas break a disappointed group, unable to knock off undermanned, fifth-ranked UConn at XL Center on Saturday night.
The defending national champions survived, pulling out a 69-65 victory that really could’ve gone either way.
Chris Ledlum missed two free throws with 17.7 seconds left and a chance to tie, and Daniss Jenkins missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 5.3 seconds left.
St. John’s managed just two points over the final 4:15.
After Dingle and Glenn Taylor Jr. hit consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 10-3 run, St. John’s went ahead with 4:15 left.
Stephen Castle answered for UConn on the other end to pull the Huskies even on the ensuing possession, jump-starting a mini 6-0 burst that gave them a six-point edge with 1:59 to go.
Joel Soriano led St. John’s with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Jenkins had 13 but missed nine of his 13 shot attempts. Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton each had 15.
Initially, the stage seemed a bit too big for St. John’s — the large crowd, the top-ranked opponent. The Johnnies missed their first five shots.
Connecticut scored 11 of the game’s first 14 points. It was getting loud at XL Center very early, the Huskies’ fans sensing blood.
But then coach Rick Pitino switched to a zone — the same one that flummoxed Xavier on Wednesday.
St. John’s settled down.
Ledlum hit a 3-pointer. It finally got the ball to Soriano. The Johnnies reeled off seven straight points and went on an extended 19-6 lead to go up five and took a six-point edge into the break.
Soriano was the best player on the floor over the first 20 minutes, notching 10 points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting and six rebounds.
Ledlum had six and four. UConn was held to 1-for-7 shooting from 3-point range and attempted just two free throws.
It wasn’t necessarily a terrific offensive half for the Johnnies, who shot just 40.7 percent from the field and settled for far too many jumpers.
Alleyne and Jenkins, the starting guards, missed a combined 8 of 10 shots.
UConn came out for the second half like it did the first.
After Taylor scored to extend the St. John’s lead to eight, the Huskies rattled off 10 consecutive points, waking up the crowd.
Spencer started with a 3-pointer after getting a rare clean look from deep, Newton converted a 3-point play and Johnson found himself all alone for a dunk, and UConn had its first lead since midway through the first half.
The foul began to pick up for both sides. With 12:18 left, Soriano picked up his fourth foul, sending the big man to the bench.
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