Arthur Kaluma had 18 points and all five Creighton starters scored in double figures as the No. 10 Bluejays owned the second half on the way to a 76-65 win over No. 21 Texas Tech on Monday afternoon in an opening-round game at the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
The Bluejays advance to the winner’s bracket where they will play No. 9 Arkansas on Tuesday. Texas Tech drops to the consolation bracket, where they’ll face Louisville earlier in the afternoon.
Creighton dominated the game in the second half, taking charge after a back-and-forth first half that ended up tied 31-31. Most of the damage was done at the free throw line — where the Bluejays were 13 of 17 while Texas Tech made 5 of 7 — and in second-chance points, a 14-5 advantage for Creighton.
Trey Alexander had 17 for Creighton (5-0). Ryan Nembhard added 16, Baylor Scheierman racked up 11 points and 12 rebounds and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 10 points.
The Red Raiders (3-1) were led by Daniel Batcho’s 17 points. Pop Isaacs had 13, De’Vion Harmon added 12 and Kevin Obanor scored 10 for Texas Tech, which shot just 43.5 percent from the floor to Creighton’s 55.1 percent.
Texas Tech led by as many as seven points on two occasions over the first six-plus minutes, the latest after Jaylon Tyson’s 3-pointer put the Red Raiders up 12-5 at the 13:48 mark. Creighton then produced a 10-0 run capped by a second-chance layup by Fredrick King with 11:05 to play in the half to swoop to a 15-12 advantage.
Tyson’s dunk with 7:06 to play in the half evened the score at 20-20 before the Bluejays moved back in front by five points. Batcho’s 3-pointer with 1:14 to play put Texas Tech back in the lead, but a jumper by Kaluma with 50 seconds left sent the contest to a 31-31 deadlock at the break.
Scheierman’s nine points led the Bluejays at halftime while Harmon paced Texas Tech with eight.
The Bluejays reassumed the lead in the first minute of the second half and never trailed again. Kalkbrenner powered a 7-0 Creighton run early in the second half, finishing it with a dunk. Creighton went on to lead by as many as 14 points.
–Field Level Media
