New York – Throw an obstacle at the UConn basketball team, and the Huskies usually find a way to overcome it.

The latest hurdle: playing without starting forward Alex Karaban, who sat out Saturday’s Big East game against St. John’s due to a sprained right ankle.

No Karaban, no problem.

The top-ranked Huskies just keep rolling and maintaining their top spot in the Big East standings.

Playing before a noisy sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd, UConn gradually pulled away in the second half, posting a 77-64 win. The Huskies (20-2, 10-1) stretched their winning streak to 10 straight. The Red Storm (13-9, 5-6) lost for the fifth time in six games.

The Huskies emerged victorious despite sophomore Donovan Clingan battling foul trouble and playing just 15 minutes.

“Thrilled with the win,” coach Dan Hurley said. “Probably didn’t imagine we could play as well and as tough as we did without Alex. He’s like the brain center of the program. The difference for us was to out-rebound that team by 15. It speaks to just how we showed up here today in terms of the edge we brought.”

UConn received a terrific performance from veteran guard Tristen Newton, who finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and also helped fill a leadership void left by the Karaban’s absence.

Graduate guard Cam Spencer snapped out of a recent shooting funk to score 23 – his highest output since Dec. 5. He fired away from the perimeter, converting five of seven three-point attempts.

Spencer believes the Huskies haven’t reached their full potential.

“What’s great is I don't think we’ve played our best basketball yet,” Spencer said. “We have a lot of ways to still improve. The best thing about the team is that it can be anyone’s night. Everybody is reliable and everybody contributes. It's just a fun team to be a part of.”

Freshman Stephon Castle is certainly proving he’s reliable. He’s playing like one of the best freshmen in the country. He recorded his season-best for points in the second straight game, finishing with 21.

“I’m just trying to stay confident and be more aggressive,” Castle said.

Credit the coaching staff as well for the road win.

Without Karaban and Clingan in foul trouble, Hurley went with a small lineup that featured Castle and freshman Jaylin Stewart at the center spot for brief stretches.

UConn made the necessary adjustments after heading into halftime trailing 37-36.

In the second half, the Huskies contained Daniss Jenkins who had only six of his 19 points after intermission. They also limited center Joel Soriano to just six points and four rebounds, well under his 16.6 and 10.0 average respectability.

After 12 lead changes and eight tied in the tight first half, the Huskies gradually seized control. Their championship mindset kicked in.

“We came in at halftime knowing we had to change our energy and our aggressiveness to win the game,” Newton said. “Everybody locked in.”

Spencer’s 3-pointer pushed UConn in front for good, 48-46, at the 17:12 mark. He had 17 points in the second half.

When Clingan went to the bench with his fourth foul with 13:26 left, UConn didn’t flinch. Castle’s two free throws handed the Huskies their first double digit lead at 62-51.

Spencer buried another 3-pointer to cap a 16-6 run and extend the edge to 69-54 with 6:39 remaining. UConn’s defense took care of the rest, holding St. John’s to just one field goal in the final five and a half minutes.

The large contingent of Husky fans in attendance grew louder as the lead grew bigger.

UConn protected what it considers its third home court. The Huskies improved to 4-0 this season at Madison Square Garden, also beating North Carolina, Texas and Indiana.

“It’s always fun playing here,” Newton said. “It’s our third home. We love playing here. The crowd was great for us. I feel like the whole game it was more UConn than St. John’s (fans).”

The Huskies also won the first meeting against the Red Storm without a starter. Clingan missed that game with a foot injury and UConn won, 69-65, Dec. 20 in Hartford.

With Saturday’s win, they improved to 6-0 with either Karaban or Clingan out of the lineup. Castle also missed some time earlier this season, sitting out with a knee injury.

Hurley found out about 90 minutes before the game that Karaban would be unavailable. Karaban worked out during pregame under the watchful eye of team trainer James Doran. He wore a protective boot on his right foot while watching from the bench.

“The expectations didn’t change,” Hurley said. “We expected to win. … We were going to do the same thing that we did when Donovan was out and Steph was out different parts of the year. Find a way to win.

“When you’re not where our program is at right now, when you have a big player out of the game, you start making excuses – it’s okay if we lose, we’re missing somebody.

“Hell, no. We came here to win.”

g.keefe@theday.com