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Las Vegas, NV. – The Players Era Festival kicked off today at the arenas at Mandalay Bay and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. This year 18 teams are participating, up from eight last year. In the opener at Mandalay Bay Baylor topped Creighton 81-74 in an entertaining game. Cameron Carr led the Bears with 21 points and nine rebounds. Baylor controlled the boards, out rebounding the Bluejays 45-27.
Carr showed high-level athleticism and a nice mid-range shot. He didn’t attempt any three-pointers but had a nice high release on his jumpers. He converted 7-of-8 free throws and is 9-of-17 from deep so far this season so there can be some optimism on his shooting. Tounde Yessoufou, a likely lottery pick in the 2026 NBA draft, did not have his best game. Yessoufou scored 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting and added five rebounds. He did connect on 2-of-4 on threes today. Yessoufou is 6’5 with a strong body and will need to improve his shooting to rise up the draft boards.
Hudson Greer, a 6’7 guard led Creighton with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Shooting guard Josh Dix added 15 points by shot only 1-of-5 from deep. He led Creighton with six assists.
Iowa State outlasted St. John’s 83-82 in the second game. Milan Momcilovic led the winners with 23 points, hitting 5-of-9 from deep. Oziyah Sellers had a nice game for the Red Storm, finishing with 20 points on 5-of-6 three-pointers. Center Zuby Ejiofor added 16 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists for St. John’s. The Red Storm had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Ejiofor could not connect on a three-pointer.
Joshua Jefferson, a 6’9 forward, played well for the Cyclones ending the contest with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He came up with some big rebounds and good defensive stops near the end of the game. Bryce Hopkins had 16 points and seven rebounds for St. John’s and connected on all ten of his free throws. St, John’s only made 7-of-20 threes with players other than Sellers shooting only 2-of-14.
Tomorrow, St. John’s will face Baylor while Iowa State plays Creighton.
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Instagram, or on twitter.
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