Yaxel Lendeborg’s 20 points and 11 rebounds led the way as No. 7 Michigan capped a dominant run to the Players Era men’s championship with a 101-61 rout of No. 12 Gonzaga on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Michigan (7-0), which rolled into the title round after blowouts of 40 points vs. San Diego State and 30 points vs. No. 21 Auburn, delivered perhaps its most impressive performance of the three-day event vs. Gonzaga (7-1).
The Wolverines led wire-to-wire and built a 10-point lead just 3:10 into the contest. Michigan took home the event’s $1 million NIL bonus as the champion, while Gonzaga earned $500,000 as the runner-up.
Michigan’s frontcourt rotation shut down Bulldogs season-long leading scorer Graham Ike, holding him to 0-of-9 shooting from the floor. Braden Huff, who matched Tyon Grant-Foster’s team-high 14 points, fouled out after logging 25 minutes.
No. 3 Houston 66, Notre Dame 56
Emanuel Sharp scored 17 points and Milos Uzan added 15 as the Cougars needed less than 24 hours to recover from their first loss of the season, getting past the Fighting Irish in a consolation game of the Players Era men’s championship at Las Vegas.
Joseph Tugler scored 10 points with eight rebounds for Houston (7-1). The Cougars) led by as many as 22 points in the first half then held off a second-half run from the Fighting Irish (5-3).
Markus Burton scored 19 points and Jalen Haralson added 14 for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish shot 34.0% (17 of 50) from the floor and were outrebounded 44-34.
No. 6 Louisville 104, NJIT 47
The Cardinals continued their high-scoring ways via a 3-point deluge and transfer guard Ryan Conwell poured in 32 points in a home win over the Highlanders.
Louisville (7-0) made a season-best 20 3-pointers and Conwell, who was averaging 18.2 points per game coming in, knocked down eight of the trifectas en route to his high-scoring night. The margin reached 57 points four times as the Cardinals topped 100 points for the fourth time in the young season. Conwell approached a triple-double by adding nine rebounds and six assists to his 32 points. Transfer Isaac McKneely added 17 points, including 5-for-10 3-point accuracy.
NJIT (3-5) struggled to score in all areas. The Highlanders shot just 18-for-58 overall (31%), 7-for-27 from 3-point range (25.9%) and 4-for-7 at the foul line (57.1%). NJIT had just six assists as a team.
No. 8 Alabama 105, Maryland 72
Labaron Philon Jr. compiled 20 points, six assists and four rebounds to lead a balanced attack in the Crimson Tide’s victory over the Terrapins in a Players Era men’s tournament consolation game at Las Vegas.
The Crimson Tide (5-2) had seven players score in double figures. Aden Holloway achieved his first career double-double, finishing with 17 points and a career-high 10 assists. Davion Hannah added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Taylor Bol Bowen also had 12 points.
Maryland (5-3) was led by Darius Adams’ 20 points. Pharrel Payne added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Guillermo Del Pino put up 10 points.
No. 21 Auburn 85, No. 14 St. John’s 74
Tahaad Pettiford scored a career-best 27 points and added three steals to lead the Tigers past the Red Storm in consolation play in the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas.
Pettiford scored 18 second-half points as Auburn (6-2) recovered from an 11-point hole to finish 2-1 in the tournament. Keyshawn Hall recorded 20 points and eight rebounds.
Zuby Ejiofor had 24 points and six rebounds for St. John’s (4-3), which went 1-2 in the tourney. Joson Sanon added 16 points.
No. 15 Iowa State 95, Syracuse 64
Milan Momcilovic scored 24 points while shooting 6-for-10 from long distance, Joshua Jefferson had 13 points and a career-high 10 assists and the Cyclones dominated the Orange in a Players Era consolation game at Las Vegas.
Killyan Toure added 19 points and six assists while Blake Buchanan and Dominick Nelson each scored 12 for Iowa State (7-0). The Cyclones broke the game open with a 60-30 second half.
Sadiq White Jr. led Syracuse with 14 points before fouling out. The Orange (4-3) went 0-3 in the event.
Kansas 81, No. 17 Tennessee 76
Melvin Council Jr. converted two three-point plays in a second-half run as part of a 17-point effort, Elmarko Jackson went for 17 of his own and the Jayhawks captured third place in the Players Era men’s championship with a victory over the Volunteers in Las Vegas.
In a matchup of sides that went 2-0 in the 18-team event’s round-robin play, the Jayhawks (6-2) outscored the Volunteers 40-23 over the final 15:28 to earn the tournament’s $300,000 prize in NIL contributions.
Nate Ament scored a game-high 20 points for the Volunteers (7-1). Tennessee took home $200,000 in NIL money for its fourth-place finish.
No. 19 Kentucky 109, Tennessee Tech 54
The Wildcats attacked the interior to the tune of 48 points in the paint while rolling past the Golden Eagles in Lexington, Ky.
Denzel Aberdeen, Trent Noah and Otega Oweh each scored 15 points for Kentucky (5-2), which had a 48-27 rebounding advantage.
Ja’Quavian Florence (11 points) and Dani Pounds (10) led Tennessee Tech (3-4) in scoring.
No. 20 Texas Tech 82, New Orleans 50
Christian Anderson had 23 points and five assists, helping the Red Raiders post a victory over the Privateers in Lubbock, Texas.
JT Toppin totaled 19 points and 16 rebounds for Texas Tech (5-2), which bounced back from their 30-point loss to No. 1 Purdue. Reserve LeJuan Watts had 12 points and eight rebounds in the win.
Jakevion Buckley led New Orleans (2-5) with 16 points. The Privateers dropped their fourth straight game, shooting 2-for-15 (13.3%) from 3-point range.
Texas 102, No. 23 North Carolina State 97
Jordan Pope’s 28-point performance propelled the Longhorns to a victory over the Wolfpack in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Pope shot 8-for-15 from the floor and knocked down seven 3-pointers while Chendall Weaver scored 17 points to go along with eight boards for Texas (6-2).
The Wolfpack (5-2) lost despite having three players tally 20 or more points. Quadir Copeland finished with 28 points and six assists, Ven-Allen Lubin logged 23 points and nine rebounds, and Paul McNeil Jr. finished with 20 points.
No. 24 Vanderbilt 83, Western Kentucky 78
Duke Miles scored 28 points and Devin McGlockton added 22 to fuel the Commodores to a victory over the Hilltoppers at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Vanderbilt (6-0) nearly squandered a 15-point lead and recorded a season low in points thanks to poor foul-shooting in the final minutes. The Commodores will face VCU in the semifinals on Thursday, while the Hilltoppers will oppose South Florida in the consolation bracket.
Teagan Moore led Western Kentucky (4-1) with 24 points and five assists.
–Field Level Media
