New York — During the frantic final minutes, UConn made all the winning plays on Sunday in a fiercely competitive Big East game at Madison Square Garden.

Isaiah Whaley scored off a putback and a free throw for a three-point play to put the Huskies ahead for good, helping fuel a comeback from a seven-point, second-half deficit.

Adama Sanogo pushed aside his struggles to block a potential game-tying shot with under a minute left.

Tyrese Martin muscled inside for a rebound basket and R.J. Cole calmly buried two free throws in the last 21 seconds.

The No. 24 Huskies survived, securing a hard-fought 63-60 win over St. John's, which misfired on a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer. They improved to 17-7 overall and moved into sole possession of third place in the league at 8-5. The Red Storm fell to 13-11, 5-8.

"Thrilled obviously to get the win," coach Dan Hurley said. "We had to show a lot of resolve. ... For us, it's the fourth game in eight days with three of them on the road, one of them 36 hours ago. To come in losing two of our last three during the course of basically a week, I was really proud of our guys that we found a way to win with our defense."

Sunday's game was far from Masterpiece Theatre. It was as messy as a two-year-old in a mud puddle. Both teams misfired on layups and turned possessions into rugby scrums.

The Huskies relied on grit, determination and a competitive heart to overcome some mistakes and shaky shooting. They converted just 36 percent from the field.

Defensively, they frustrated St. John's, which shot just 34 percent and had 13 shots blocked. They also held a 52-41 edge in rebounds. The Red Storm played without second leading scorer Posh Alexander who sat out with an ankle injury.

"We had to win that one ugly...," Whaley said. "With the offense not going the way we wanted to, we just had to gut it out. There's points in the season where you're going to have to just fight for games, and that was one of them."

Cole added: "We just found a way to win."

Whaley contributed to the fight, finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds and a season-high tying five blocks. He also helped contain Big East leading scorer Julian Champagnie, who had to work hard for 13 points, going 6 for 16 from the field.

Martin scored all 17 of his points in the second half and finished with eight rebounds while Cole chipped in 14 points and five assists, and Andre Jackson added five points and a career-high 16 rebounds.

"This was Isaiah and this was Tyrese and this was R.J. making clutch free throws, being Cole-blooded," Hurley said.

Neither team led by more than seven points during the back and forth game that featured seven ties and 16 lead changes. The Huskies held a 30-29 at halftime.

Facing its biggest deficit, 55-48, with seven minutes, 44 seconds remaining, UConn surged in front with an 11-0 spurt.

The Huskies got the job done on both ends of the court.

Martin, who made four 3-pointers in the second half to keep the offense afloat, misfired from beyond the arc and Whaley secured the rebound and scored while being fouled. Whaley drained the free throw for a 57-55 edge with 3:17 remaining.

The Huskies would never relinquish the lead.

Cole fed Sanogo, who battled foul trouble and scored just eight points, for a basket to cap the run. St. John's went about five and a half minutes without a point.

UConn still had some work to do.

After Sanogo's huge block, Martin scored off a rebound for a 61-57 edge with 21 seconds left.

"I just knew R.J. was taking that shot as a senior player and the clock was winding down," Martin said. "I was going to be there to have his back if he missed and that's exactly what I did. I was willing to do whatever it took to win that game."

St. John's Aaron Wheeler, who's from Stamford, answered with a 3-pointer to slice the deficit to one with 14 seconds left.

Coming out of a timeout, Cole was fouled with 12.2 seconds left. An 88 percent foul shooter, he drilled both shots for a 63-60 advantage.

"When the ball is in my hands at the end of the game, I'm so confident," Cole said. "Just going to the line, I'm not thinking about anything because I know I'm going to knock those free throws down."

The battle-tested Huskies, who've had 14 games decided by single digits this season, walked away with an important win, much to the delight of the UConn fans that made the trip to Madison Square Garden.

"It feels amazing," Whaley said. "It feels like a (weight) off our shoulders. We've been struggling late in the stretch of games. To be able to fight back and be resilient and be able to stay together and getting the win feels really good. Everybody is really excited. We've just got to keep this momentum going."

UConn's tough stretch continues on Wednesday when it hosts Seton Hall in Storrs.

News and notes

UConn swept the regular season series, winning the first meeting this season, 86-78 in overtime on Jan. 12 in Storrs. ... Whaley on defending Champagnie, who had 27 in the first meeting but just 13 Sunday. "I wanted that match-up. I was begging for it, basically. The first game, he had a really good game and I didn't really guard him. This game, I really wanted to guard him and show why I did win the defensive player of the year last year." ... The Huskies blocked 13 shots, tying their second highest total this season. "We played more to our identity today," Hurley said. ... UConn reserve Akok Akok sat out his third straight game with a foot sprain. ... Andre Jackson and former Husky Donny Marshall, who served as analyst for the Fox television broadcast, briefly chatted before the game. ... Huskies wore black uniforms for the first time. ... UConn played its 123rd game in program history at Madison Square Garden and first Big East regular season game there in nine years. ... Attendance was 6,567. ... Former UConn standout Jeremy Lamb visited the locker room after the game.

g.keefe@theday.com