Big East preseason gamer of the year Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 49 points and 15th-ranked Creighton required simply about every one of them in a season-opening 99-86 win over UT-Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday night.
Creighton, a Sweet 16 group 3 of the last 4 seasons, couldn’t shake off the Vaqueros of the Southland Conference till the last 2 minutes.
The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner’s point overall was the second-highest in program history behind Bob Portman’s 51 versus UW-Milwaukee in1967 The fifth-year center was an amazing 20 of 22 from the field, consistingof 2 for 2 on 3-guidelines, and he made 7 of 8 complimentary tosses. He likewise got 11 rebounds and obstructed 3 shots.
Steven Ashworth scored 25 points for the Bluejays.
Hasan Abdul-Hakim had 24 points and Cliff Davis and DK Thorn included 17 each for the Vaqueros (0-2), who were within 87-82 when Howie Fleming Jr. made a fifth-chance basket with 2: 37 left.
Takeaways
UT Rio Grande Valley: The Vaqueros kept it close by going 14 of 35 on 3-tips and outworking Creighton on the boards in the 2nd half. They completed with 19 second-chance points. They dropped to 0-14 versus Top 25 challengers and have lost 56 straight versus power-conference challengers, according to Sportradar.
Creighton: The Bluejays were 30-point favorites, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, and got more than they negotiated for versus the Vaqueros. Coach Greg McDermott was required to play his beginners upuntil the last minute.
Ryan Kalkbrenner drops a 49-point double-double in Creighton’s 99-86 win over UTRGV
Key minute
Kalkbrenner scored 10 straight points in a range of methods in the veryfirst half. He made a complimentary toss, hit a 3 from the wing, soaked a lob from Jamiya Neal, beat the gamer protecting him downcourt for a fast-break layup and revealed some post moves for an simple container.
Key stat
Creighton won its 30th straight home opener, a streak that began in 1995.
Up next
Creighton hosts Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday in the 2nd of 4 home videogames over 11 days. UT-Rio Grande Valley returns home to play Champion Christian College on Sunday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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