Ryan Kalkbrenner collected 25 points and 13 rebounds as Creighton continued its dominance of DePaul with a 75-65 victory on Wednesday night in Omaha, Neb.
Kalkbrenner made 12 of 17 shots from the floor for the Bluejays (20-8, 13-4 Big East), who recorded their 22nd consecutive win over the Blue Demons and 27th in their last 28 meetings.
Creighton, which posted a 73-49 victory over DePaul on Jan. 21, reached the 20-win plateau for the 10th straight season. The Bluejays shot a robust 51.8 percent from the floor on Wednesday, held a 42-22 edge in rebounds and a 36-26 advantage in points in the paint.
Steven Ashworth drained four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. He also had six assists, and Fedor Zugic added nine points off the bench for Creighton, which scored 15 straight points midway through the second half to effectively put the game away.
Isaiah Rivera collected 18 points and eight rebounds and CJ Gunn had 14 points for the Blue Demons (11-18, 2-16), who have lost six in a row and 14 of their last 16 games.
DePaul played without leading rebounder NJ Benson (hand) and fellow forward David Skogman (undisclosed).
DePaul pulled within four points at halftime before Kalkbrenner scored his team’s first 11 points of the second half. Three layups, a jumper, a dunk and a free throw by Kalkbrenner gave Creighton a 47-38 lead.
The Blue Demons cut their deficit to five points at 50-45 before the Bluejays took over. Isaac Traudt sank two 3-pointers and Ashworth also connected from beyond the arc to highlight a 15-0 run for Creighton.
Ashworth sank his third 3-pointer to extend the Bluejays’ lead to 72-53 with 3:34 to play. DePaul scored eight straight points before Ashworth connected from deep.
Rivera made a layup to stake DePaul to a 22-18 lead before Creighton countered with a 16-3 run. Kalkbrenner exploited the interior and Zugic and Jackson McAndrew connected from beyond the arc during that surge.
–Field Level Media
