Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 24 points, pulled down six rebounds and had three blocks to lead No. 15 Creighton to a 96-70 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday evening in Omaha, Neb.
The senior center made 9 of 10 shots from the field and through two games has converted 29 of 32 field goal attempts.
Steven Ashworth had 15 points, nine assists and five rebounds. The point guard connected on 5 of 8 3-point attempts. Jamiya Neal had 13 points and five rebounds and Pop Isaacs had 12 points. Jackson McAndrew came off the bench to chip in 13 points for the Bluejays (2-0).
Creighton coach Greg McDermott tied former coach Dana Altman’s school record of 327 wins.
Terrence Brown had 19 points and eight rebounds for FDU (1-2) and Bismark Nsiah and Dylan Jones added 12 points for the Knights.
Despite being outsized and outrebounded by Creighton, FDU started the game on a 10-2 run with sharp shooting and side-to-side ball movement on offense. A Nsiah 3-pointer at 17:44 capped the game-opening run.
Creighton tied the game at 10-10 on Ashworth’s trey at 15:05 of the first half. Kalkbrenner — who set a new school record on Wednesday for field goals made with 20 — jab-stepped and slid to the side to nail a top-of-the key 3-pointer to give the Bluejays a 22-17 lead. The 7-foot-1 center is now 3-for-3 from 3-point land on the season.
As part of a 13-0 run, Ashworth hit a triple off a dribble handoff. On its next possession Neal scored on a nifty layup in transition as Creighton took a 33-26 lead and forced FDU to call its second timeout.
The rally wouldn’t stop though, as Creighton sailed to a 50-34 halftime lead. Kalkbrenner finished the first half with 15 points, featuring two dunks and a tip-in.
Kalkbrenner and Neal highlighted back-to-back possessions with dunks for a 56-37 Creighton lead. Ashworth followed with a 3-pointer and Kalkbrenner had another dunk and was fouled as the Bluejays pulled away with a 12-0 run that gave them a 62-37 lead.
–Field Level Media
