MEN’S BASKETBALL: Creighton Sprints Out To Early Lead In Win Over Georgetown

OMAHA–(CU Athletics Mar. 1)–Senior Night provided a little extra kick for the Creighton men’s basketball team as the Bluejays raced out to a 19-0 lead en route to a 99-59 win over Georgetown on Wednesday, March 1.

The win lifted the Bluejays to 19-11 on the season and 13-6 in BIG EAST action, while Georgetown closed the regular-season 7-24 overall and 2-18 in conference games.

Creighton came out with a purpose from the opening possession, finding Ryan Kalkbrenner open for a dunk to ignite the Bluejays’ 19-0 sprint. The Bluejay center delivered seven of Creighton’s first 10 points, while senior Baylor Scheierman capped things off with the Bluejays’ final six points. Georgetown did not score for almost seven minutes, finally cracking the scoreboard with 13:17 remaining in the first half.

Keeping their foot on the gas throughout the opening frame, Creighton extended its advantage to as much as 30 points (43-13) with 6:52 left. Trey Alexander guided the Creighton attack with 18 first half points, all coming from long range. The Oklahoma native hit four from long range in a two-minute stretch, the finale giving Creighton a 38-9 lead with 8:04 remaining in the first half.

Leading 51-24 at the half, Creighton’s pushed the lead to as much as 42 (73-31) with 13:36 left in the game, while the second unit extended the margin to 84-41 with 8:26 left.

Alexander led all scorers with 25 points, while four other Bluejays finished in double-figures. Kalkbrenner delivered 16 points, while Scheierman and Arthur Kaluma posted 13 points. The quartet with at least 10 points was rounded out by Ryan Nembhard. Scheierman also collected 13 rebounds to notch his 12th double-double of the season, the most by a Bluejay since Bob Harstad more than 30 years ago. Creighton won the rebound battle 44-32 and dished 27 assists on 33 baskets.

Georgetown got a team-high 21 points from Primo Spears and 13 points from Bryson Mozone but shot 31.8 percent overall and 5-of-25 from downtown.

Creighton closes out the regular season on Saturday, March 4 in Chicago, Illinois against DePaul. The game is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. and air on FS1