St. John’s Triumphs Over Baylor in a Key Matchup

LAS VEGAS — Around this time last year, St. John’s began to define itself as a top contender, especially when facing challenges.

In the Bahamas, they managed to recover from a tough double-overtime defeat to secure a win against Virginia.

On Tuesday afternoon, their decisive victory against Baylor, who had previously beaten them, felt oddly familiar.

Having just suffered a disappointing one-point loss to No. 15 Iowa State, the No. 14 Johnnies encountered an early test of their resilience.

They rose to the occasion, clinching a solid 96-81 win at the Players Era Festival at Michelob Ultra Arena, leveling their record to 1-1.

St. John’s shot out of the gate with impressive three-point shooting, buoyed by late contributions from Oziyah Sellers and Bryce Hopkins, marking their first win against a power conference opponent this season.

Their next opponent remains to be seen, but it seems they’ll be ready for the challenge.

Hopkins led the way with 26 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Sellers added 22 points, including five three-pointers, while Dillon Mitchell contributed 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Ian Jackson chipped in 14 points.

Cameron Carr was the standout for Baylor with 27 points, but top freshman Tounde Yesufu struggled, managing just 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting. St. John’s shot an impressive 57 percent from the field and made a season-high 11 three-pointers out of 22 attempts.

Despite the victory, there were some concerns. St. John’s struggled with defensive rebounding—a problem they faced in their opener against Iowa State. Baylor capitalized with 21 second-chance points and a staggering 26 offensive rebounds. Fortunately, St. John’s improved its performance in the second half.

The first half was strangely inconsistent. St. John’s had great shooting, nearly hitting 60 percent, and knocked down five three-pointers. Yet, they allowed 17 offensive rebounds, which was quite problematic.

The Johnnies held a nine-point lead at halftime. While it could have been better, it also could have been worse. Sellers lit up the scoreboard early, sinking his first three three-pointers and finishing with 14 points. Hopkins contributed 11 points.

The rebounding issue was glaring, and the Johnnies were fortunate Baylor only managed to score 11 second-chance points despite numerous possessions and multiple opportunities to score. Zuby Ejiofor remained quiet during the first half, playing just under five minutes without foul trouble.

St. John’s came out strong in the second half. Dylan Darling forced a couple of turnovers from Baylor, allowing the Johnnies to score the first seven points and extend their lead to 17. Hopkins continued to propel the team, scoring both inside and outside, as the lead ballooned to 18 points following a three-point play by Joeson Sannon with 11:56 left in the game.