Hartford – UConn and St. John’s exchanged heated words and sharp elbows in a physical Big East game that threatened to spin out of control at times on Sunday.

There were four technical fouls, two flagrant fouls and two ejections between the two teams.

In the end, No. 6 UConn lost the toughness test and a home game for the first time this season, falling to St. John’s 85-74 at the XL Center.

“We definitely were out-toughed out there,” redshirt freshman Alex Karaban said. “Give credit St. John’s. They came out here and really bullied us throughout the entire game.”

This is more than a one-game issue.

The slumping Huskies (15-4, 4-4) have been out-played, out-hustled and out-toughed for the most part while dropping four of the last five games.

Losing on the road in the Big East is one thing, being beaten at home for the first time after 10 straight wins this season by a team with a losing league record is a cause for concern. Senior Joel Soriano had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the balanced Red Storm (13-6, 3-5), who had six players score in double figures.

“Obviously, disappointed,” coach Dan Hurley said. “I thought we would play a lot better. We just looked weak and looked unprepared. … That was a physical, chippy game and we caved in.”

Sophomore Jordan Hawkins carried a sputtering attack, scoring 20 of his career-high 31 points in the first half. Karaban, who missed two practices late last week because of a shoulder issue, finished 16 and junior Adama Sanogo added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

In recent weeks, the Huskies have looked nothing like the powerful team that won their first 14 games and reached No. 2 in the polls.

They scored failing marks in nearly every area on Sunday.

They committed a season-high 21 turnovers, leading to 22 St. John’s points. Three of those came from stepping out of bounds. They regularly got beat to loose balls. Their bench was badly outscored 26-11.

Defensive breakdowns cost the Huskies, who’ve allowed three of their last five opponents to shoot over 50 percent from the field. The Red Storm converted 51.7 percent.

Hurley called the team’s perimeter defense “just dreadful.”

“Every time there was a one-on-one situation, their player got the edge,” he said. “That’s been a common theme for the last two weeks with us. We haven’t played well in a while. … This isn’t a one-off.”

Coming out of the locker room with the game tied at 38, UConn turned the ball over on its first possession when Tristen Newton’s lob pass intended for Andre Jackson sailed out of bounds.

Things continued to go downhill for the Huskies.

St. John’s seized the lead for good early in the second half by attacking the basket. When Dylan Addae-Wusu drove down a wide open lane for an uncontested layup for a 46-42 edge, Hurley called a timeout.

The deficit grew to seven but seemed larger. Jackson went to the bench with his fourth foul with 14 minutes left and eventually fouled out.

More mistakes and poor shooting prevented the Huskies from climbing any closer than four (64-60) the rest of the way.

Soriano’s foul line jumper capped a 9-0 run for St. John’s and pushed the lead to 73-60 with four minutes left. Fans started heading to the exits.

Inside the final minute, Sanogo and then St. John’s Andre Curbelo were both ejected at separate times.

“(Referee) Ron (Groover) knew (Sanogo) was cursing but he didn’t know exactly what he was saying, that was the explanation that I got,” Hurley said. “I don’t know if he was just cursing at himself or cursing in frustration.

“To be where we were a couple of weeks ago and to be where we are today, there’s just a lot of frustration.”

Tempers flared early on.

About 10 minutes into the game, UConn’s Donovan Clingan caught St. John’s David Jones with an elbow while securing a defensive rebound. On the way back down court, Jones retaliated and hit Donovan with an elbow near the Husky logo.

After the officials went and reviewed the action, both players were given flagrant fouls.

Later, UConn’s Hassan Diarra and St. John’s Posh Alexander were tagged with technical fouls after a verbal exchange heading into a timeout.

The teams traded momentum and leads.

A hot-shooting Hawkins scored 14 of his team’s first 16 points for an eight-point advantage.

St. John’s responded, going on a 13-4 run for a 23-22 edge. The visitors’ lead grew to 27-22.

Finally, a Husky not named Hawkins started to contribute. Sanogo scored four straight points and Karaban buried a 3-pointer for a 33-30 edge

The lead wouldn’t last.

The Red Storm imposed their will and took charge in the second half and the Huskies folded.

UConn has only a few days to regroup before visiting Seton Hall on Wednesday.

The Huskies are trying to stay tight as a team instead of coming apart.

“We’re still together as a team,” Karaban said. “We’re battling a lot of adversity right now and we’re trying to stay together.”

News and notes

A total of 51 fouls were called. St. John’s went 23 for 37 from the line, UConn 20 for 27. … Hawkins had a team-high seven turnovers. … UConn’s reserves combined to go 2 for 16 from the field and score just 11 points. … Stephon Castle and Jayden Ross watched their future UConn teammates play from behind the Husky bench. They both received nice ovations when introduced during a timeout. … Assistant coach Tom Moore was back after missing the Marquette game on Wednesday due to an illness.

g.keefe@theday.com