Sophomore BJ Davis recorded career highs with 18 points and nine rebounds, lifting San Diego State to a 71-53 victory over No. 21 Creighton on Tuesday in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.
Miles Byrd, who finished with 16 points, combined with Davis to make 13 of 21 shots from the floor, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range.
Nick Boyd collected seven points, six rebounds and five assists for the Aztecs (3-1), who outscored the Bluejays (4-2) by a decisive 39-25 margin in the second half.
San Diego State finished the game shooting a robust 48.4 percent from the floor and enjoyed a 15-1 edge in fast-break points.
Creighton’s Pop Isaacs scored 18 points and Jackson McAndrew drained four 3-pointers to highlight his 12-point, 14-rebound performance.
Big East Preseason Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner added nine of his 11 points in the second half for the Bluejays, who played without Steven Ashworth. The senior guard was nursing a right ankle injury sustained in Creighton’s 74-63 setback to in-state rival Nebraska on Friday.
Kalkbrenner made a layup, converted a three-point play and added a dunk to help Creighton cut San Diego State’s lead to 44-38 with 14:28 to play in the second half. Byrd, however, began to heat up by sinking a pair of 3-pointers during the Aztecs’ 12-2 run.
Pharaoh Compton’s emphatic dunk pushed San Diego State’s advantage to 19 points with 2:15 to play.
Creighton made four of its first five attempts from 3-point range before going 1-for-10 from beyond the arc to finish the first half.
Davis drained a 3-pointer to push San Diego State’s lead to 25-16 before Fredrick King made a jumper and a three-point play to reduce the deficit for Creighton. Kalkbrenner made his lone shot from the field — a layup — to bring the Bluejays within two points before Magoon Gwath’s jumper at the buzzer gave the Aztecs a 32-28 lead at halftime.
–Field Level Media
