Milan Momcilovic scored 23 points and made five 3-pointers to help No. 15 Iowa State earn an 83-82 victory over No. 14 St. John’s on the first day of the Players Era men’s championship in Las Vegas on Monday.
Joshua Jefferson had 17 points and eight rebounds, while Tamin Lipsey scored 16 points for the Cyclones (5-0), who face Creighton on Tuesday.
Oziyah Sellers led St. John’s (3-2) with 20 points. Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins chipped in 16 points apiece for the Red Storm, who will match up with Baylor on Tuesday. Dillon Mitchell scored 12 points in the loss.
After trailing by five in the waning minutes, St. John’s went ahead 80-79 on Sellers’ second consecutive triple with 2:09 remaining.
Momcilovic’s layup on the next possession restored Iowa State’s lead.
Sellers missed a layup with 12 seconds left, and Jefferson knocked down two free throws to put the Cyclones ahead by three. Ejiofor missed a game-tying triple and Mitchell’s putback as time expired left the Red Storm a point short.
Iowa State was down two at halftime but scored the first six points of the second half, with Lipsey’s consecutive baskets giving the Cyclones a 49-45 lead.
Momcilovic made 3-pointers on back-to-back Iowa State possessions and Jefferson’s triple extended the margin to six, forcing the Red Storm’s timeout with 13:47 remaining.
Mitchell’s two straight baskets stamped a 7-0 St. John’s run that tied the game 62-62 with 10:32 to go. The run continued as Mitchell’s layup and Dylan Darling’s free throws put the Red Storm ahead 68-64.
After Ejiofor’s layup with 7:22 left, Iowa State answered with nine straight points, including Nate Heise’s three-point play.
Earlier, Sellers’ five straight points initiated a 13-4 run that pulled St. John’s within a point with six minutes left in the first half.
Heise’s layup stopped the bleeding, but Sellers’ free throws and Hopkins’ layup started the Red Storm’s 8-0 spurt. St. John’s was up 45-43 at the break.
–Field Level Media
