By Jackson Posey | Sports Editor
St. John’s blew out Baylor on Tuesday, 96-81, dropping the Bears to 1-1 in the Player’s Era Festival in Las Vegas.
Point forwards Bryce Hopkins (26 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and Dillon Mitchell (18 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) led a blazing Red Storm (4-2) attack that shot 57.4% from the field and outscored the Bears 24-11 in transition. Baylor (4-1) out-rebounded St. John’s 26-9 offensively but only led the second-chance battle 21-17.
The Bears were dealing with a shortened rotation after a foot injury to fifth-year guard JJ White, who sat at the end of the bench donning a boot and crutches. Junior center Juslin Bodo Bodo (arm) and freshman forward Maikcol Perez (ACL) also remain out with injuries.
Baylor missed its first nine shots, including four layups and 3-pointers, as St. John’s jumped out to an early lead. A promising six-to-one advantage on the offensive glass wasn’t enough to keep the Bears afloat. Five minutes into the game, the Red Storm led 15-4 despite attempting 10 fewer shots.
Sophomore guard Isaac Williams IV broke the scoring drought with a contested up-and-under layup, but the Red Storm immediately answered with their third 3-pointer of the day.
It took nearly eight minutes for the Bears to break into the double digits. When redshirt sophomore Cameron Carr (27 points) finally took them to the promised land with his first 3-point attempt of the tournament, it only drew the team within 10.
Piece by piece, Baylor began to chip away at the lead, drawing to within 30-25. Carr matched Oziyah Sellers’ 14 first-half points as the Bears crushed the offensive glass, leading the offensive rebounding battle 17-3.
Basketball is ultimately about making shots, though, and the Johnnies did so at a blistering clip. The Red Storm shot 16-for-27 (59.3%) in the first half to Baylor’s 13-for-39 (33.3%) and entered halftime with a 43-34 lead.
St. John’s raced out of the half, scoring eight straight to open the frame. Williams (14 points) and senior forward Michael Rataj (12 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists) were the only Bears to score in the first eight minutes of the half. The Johnnies continued a dominant scoring performance against a variety of Baylor defenses, spreading cross-court passes and backdoor cuts in the half-court while winning the transition battle 24-11.
Before hitting a pair of 3-pointers in garbage time, the Bears had only made one shot from outside the paint in the second half. St. John’s ran up the score to 96-81, marking Baylor’s first loss of the season.
The Bears will likely be back in action on Wednesday. Tip time and matchup will be determined Tuesday night.
