Cameron Carr collected 21 points and nine rebounds as Baylor never trailed and dominated the rebounding margin in its 81-74 victory over Creighton in the Players Era men’s championship in Las Vegas on Monday afternoon.
Carr made 7 of 16 shots as Baylor (4-0) did enough to fend off several comeback tries by Creighton. The Bears scored 38 points in the paint and only converted 10 of 27 layup attempts but outrebounded the Bluejays 45-28 and seized 22 offensive boards.
Carr’s biggest shot of the contest occurred with 25 seconds left when he rebounded his missed layup and converted the putback for a 77-72 lead. After a jumper by Creighton’s Hudson Greer made it a three-point game with 22 seconds remaining, Carr sank two free throws and blocked a 3-point try by Issac Traudt with eight seconds left.
Daniel Skillings Jr. added 14 and eight boards for the Bears, who shot 43.1% and led by as many as 12 in the first half. Obi Agbim added 13, Tounde Yessoufou contributed 11 and Michael Rataj chipped in 10 for the Bears, who made their first five 3-pointers but just 7 of 18 overall.
Greer led the Bluejays (3-2) with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in his second collegiate game. Josh Dix added 15 and six assists and Nik Graves chipped in 12 points for Creighton, which shot 46.6%.
Leading scorer Blake Harper was held to nine and appeared to avoid an injury scare when he backpedaled into a cameraman on the baseline after missing a jumper with about 5 1/2 minutes left.
Baylor scored eight straight points for a 36-24 lead on a putback by Rataj with 4:50 left. The Bears opened a 44-33 advantage with 1:44 left after consecutive jumpers by Carr before taking a 44-36 lead into halftime.
The Bluejays scored the first six points of the second half and trailed 44-42 after Jasen Green sank two free throws less than 90 seconds in. Baylor countered with seven straight points and took a 51-42 lead on a jumper by Skillings with 14:59 left, but less than two minutes later a basket by Graves made it a one-point game.
Creighton finally tied the game at 58 when Dix sank a 3 with 10:59 left. It was tied again at 60 and 62 before consecutive baskets by Rataj put Baylor ahead by four with 7:42 left.
Carr’s dunk with 5:29 left and made it 70-62 before he converted another slam with 69 seconds to go.
