No. 10 Creighton pulls away early to beat UC Riverside 80-51

Thu, Nov 17, 2022
NCAAB News (AP)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Baylor Scheierman scored 17 points to lead four Creighton players in double figures, and the 10th-ranked Bluejays pulled away from UC Riverside in the first half to win 80-51 on Thursday night.

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Arthur Kaluma and Trey Alexander had 12 points apiece for the Bluejays (4-0), whose average margin of victory is 26.5 points.

Wil Tattersall had 11 points to lead the Highlanders (1-2), who were 3 of 19 on 3-pointers and shot 35.5% overall.

Scheierman, who was 2 of 8 from the field against Holy Cross on Monday, made back-to-back 3s to start his best offensive game since transferring from South Dakota State.

Kalkbrenner hit his first three shots to extend his consecutive field goals streak to 22. He had made his last nine against North Dakota and went 10 for 10 against Holy Cross before making a couple short shots and a 3-pointer against the Highlanders. His streak ended when a 3 from the wing bounced off the rim.

Kaluma's 3 started a 16-2 run to close the half and send the Bluejays into the locker room ahead 41-28.

The Highlanders led briefly in the middle of the first half, with Zyon Pullin's jumper putting them up 26-25. UC Riverside missed 10 of its next 11 shots as the Bluejays went on a tear with Alexander scoring three straight baskets and Scheierman making his third 3 of the half.

BIG PICTURE

UC Riverside: Creighton coach Greg McDermott expected the Highlanders to be his team's biggest challenge to date, and they were for a while. They had come from 18 points down to win at Loyola Marymount last week, but they didn't have the firepower to keep up once the Bluejays got going.

Creighton: The game illustrated how many offensive options the Bluejays have. Scheierman disappeared in Monday's game and led the team in scoring Thursday. Kalkbrenner is dominant around the basket and has developed a perimeter shot. Kaluma is good for double figures every night. Alexander is a slasher. The bench is deep. Now the real season begins with possibly three ranked opponents the next two weeks.

UP NEXT

UC Riverside hosts Division III Occidental College on Saturday.

Creighton faces No. 23 Texas Tech on Monday in the Maui Invitational.

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