Trey Alexander recorded 21 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists to help No. 8 Creighton roll to an 89-60 victory over North Dakota State on Saturday afternoon at Omaha, Neb.
Baylor Scheierman added 17 points and six assists for Creighton (2-0), which won its first two games by an average of 40 points. Star big man Ryan Kalkbrenner scored all 13 of his points in the second half for the Bluejays.
Damari Wheeler-Thomas scored 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting for North Dakota State (2-1). The Bison fell to 0-12 all-time against Creighton.
The Bluejays shot 61.1 percent from the field, including 12 of 28 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range. Creighton shot 60 percent from the floor in the first half and 62.1 percent in the second.
After the scoreless first half, Kalkbrenner went on a rampage with 11 points during a 16-0 surge to open the second half that gave Creighton a 57-31 advantage.
Kalkbrenner scored the first seven points of the run before Alexander made two free throws to give the Bluejays a 19-point lead. Kalkbrenner then hit a hook shot, Scheierman drained a 3-pointer and Kalkbrenner made another shot to end the burst to put Creighton ahead by 26 with 15:59 remaining.
Kalkbrenner connected on 6 of 7 second-half shots.
Alexander later scored seven points during a 10-0 run as the Bluejays boosted their lead to 67-36 with 13:12 left.
Creighton continued to lead comfortably the rest of the way.
The Bison shot 41.7 percent from the field and made 6 of 14 (42.9 percent) shots from 3-point range.
Creighton made its last eight field-goal attempts in the first half to lead 41-31 at the break.
Scheierman led the way with 14 points in the half and Alexander had 10 points and four steals. Kalkbrenner took just one shot and missed it.
Wheeler-Thomas scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the half for North Dakota State.
It was an 18-18 tie after Wheeler-Thomas drained a 3-pointer with 9:10 left in the first half.
Creighton scored 16 of the next 23 points to open a 34-25 lead on Scheierman’s 3-pointer with 3:33 left in the half.
Steven Ashworth’s final-minute hoop elevated the lead to 12.
–Field Level Media
