Tuesday, February 13
Omaha, Neb.
7:00 PM
Creighton University
19-7
94
vs
46
Bemidji State
n/a (exhibition)
1
2
F
Bemidji State
34
12
46
Creighton
45
49
94
Jacob Epperson
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Men's Basketball Handles Bemidji State, 94-46
2/13/2018 9:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Epperson scores 15 points in 18 minutes off the bench
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton men's basketball team found its groove after a slow start as the Bluejays closed the game on a 72-16 run to cruise to a comfortable 94-46 victory over Bemidji State on Tuesday.
Not intimidated coming into CenturyLink Center Omaha, the Division II Beavers used a hot start to take a 12-5 lead going into the first media timeout. Bemidji State came out of the media timeout as they started, extending the lead up to 10, holding a 21-11 edge before a Creighton timeout (12:46). The Beavers shot 8-for-12 in the opening seven minutes, with nine coming from Sharif Black and five from Jai'Vionne Green.
Creighton (19-7) relied on the bench to create a spark with a trey from Jacob Epperson (12:22) and a jumper from Mitch Ballock (11:58) closing the gap within five. Down 30-22 at the 8:17 mark of the first stanza, Creighton turned on the jets, ignited by an 8-0 run from four different scorers to tie the game at 30 apiece. Moments later a Kaleb Joseph free throw gave Creighton its first lead at 31-30 (4:49). The Bluejays continued the momentum in what finished as a 23-4 run with eight different scorers for the Bluejays in the final 8:17 to head to the intermission with a 45-34 lead.
Creighton created nine Bemidji State turnovers in the first half while giving up only one, leading to a 14-2 edge in points off turnovers. The Bluejays outscored the Beavers 28-14 in the paint while collecting 12 assists.
Creighton came out with the hot hand in the second half, an early 9-1 burst was capped by a Ronnie Harrell trey (16:38) to push the lead to 54-35. Trifectas from Marcus Foster (14:26), Epperson (13:53) and Tyler Clement (12:31) highlighted another run Bluejay run with 18 straight points and extending the lead to 72-37 with 10:07 left to play in the contest. Creighton closed out the last 10 minutes outscoring the Beavers 22-9, cruising to a comfortable 94-46 victory.
Epperson led the way for the Bluejays with 15 points and six rebounds in just his fifth career game. Marcus Foster ended the night with 12 points and tied his season-high with eight rebounds, while Tyler Clement (11) and Khyri Thomas (10) also scored double-digits for Creighton. A total of 11 different Bluejays found their way on the scoresheet.
Sharif Black topped Bemidji State with 13 points, all in the first half.
Creighton held Bemidji State to just 27.0 percent shooting from the field (17-63), while shooting 52.1 percent itself (38-73). The Bluejays won a 48-36 rebounding battle, outcreating the Beavers with 23 assists compared to Bemidji's eight.
The Bluejays return to action on Saturday night at 9 p.m. when it hosts Marquette. The game will be broadcast on FSN Midwest (and other Regional networks) and can be heard on KOZN (1620 AM).
NOTES: The game counted as an exhibition for Bemidji State, but the win and all stats from the contest will count for Creighton ... Greg McDermott is now 13-1 in his career against Bemidji State ... Creighton is 14-1 at home this season and 16-1 at all sites against unranked teams ... Creighton has won 23 straight non-conference home games ... Creighton has won 105 straight games at home against teams that enter the contest with a record of .500 or better ... Creighton has won 35 straight when shooting 50 percent or better from the field ... Tyler Clement had a career-high 11 points ... Marcus Foster has tied a CenturyLink Center Omaha single-season record with 52 three-pointers this season, matching a mark once set by Booker Woodfox in 19 home games in 2008-09 ... Marcus Foster's 79 three-pointers this season are tied for seventh-most in CU history with Kyle Korver from 2001-02 ... Jacob Epperson went 3-for-3 from three-point range, the first shots from distance in his young career ... Marcus Foster moved past Ethan Wragge and is now 27th in Creighton history with 1,166 career points as a Bluejay ... Khyri Thomas moved past Austin Chatman for 38th in CU history and now owns 1,019 career points ... Creighton avoided playing three consecutive one-point games for the first time since 1974-75 ... Creighton missed multiple free throws on the same trip to the line in the first half for the first time since December 18, 2017. CU made 116 different trips to the line in between ... Creighton now owns three wins this season after trailing by 10 or more points and improved to 27-25 all-time in 52 games in which it has trailed by 10 or more at any point inside CenturyLink Center Omaha ... Creighton's nine blocked shots tied a CenturyLink Center Omaha record for the program .. Creighton is ranked No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches poll, but is not in the Associated Press Top 25.
Not intimidated coming into CenturyLink Center Omaha, the Division II Beavers used a hot start to take a 12-5 lead going into the first media timeout. Bemidji State came out of the media timeout as they started, extending the lead up to 10, holding a 21-11 edge before a Creighton timeout (12:46). The Beavers shot 8-for-12 in the opening seven minutes, with nine coming from Sharif Black and five from Jai'Vionne Green.
Creighton (19-7) relied on the bench to create a spark with a trey from Jacob Epperson (12:22) and a jumper from Mitch Ballock (11:58) closing the gap within five. Down 30-22 at the 8:17 mark of the first stanza, Creighton turned on the jets, ignited by an 8-0 run from four different scorers to tie the game at 30 apiece. Moments later a Kaleb Joseph free throw gave Creighton its first lead at 31-30 (4:49). The Bluejays continued the momentum in what finished as a 23-4 run with eight different scorers for the Bluejays in the final 8:17 to head to the intermission with a 45-34 lead.
Creighton created nine Bemidji State turnovers in the first half while giving up only one, leading to a 14-2 edge in points off turnovers. The Bluejays outscored the Beavers 28-14 in the paint while collecting 12 assists.
Creighton came out with the hot hand in the second half, an early 9-1 burst was capped by a Ronnie Harrell trey (16:38) to push the lead to 54-35. Trifectas from Marcus Foster (14:26), Epperson (13:53) and Tyler Clement (12:31) highlighted another run Bluejay run with 18 straight points and extending the lead to 72-37 with 10:07 left to play in the contest. Creighton closed out the last 10 minutes outscoring the Beavers 22-9, cruising to a comfortable 94-46 victory.
Epperson led the way for the Bluejays with 15 points and six rebounds in just his fifth career game. Marcus Foster ended the night with 12 points and tied his season-high with eight rebounds, while Tyler Clement (11) and Khyri Thomas (10) also scored double-digits for Creighton. A total of 11 different Bluejays found their way on the scoresheet.
Sharif Black topped Bemidji State with 13 points, all in the first half.
Creighton held Bemidji State to just 27.0 percent shooting from the field (17-63), while shooting 52.1 percent itself (38-73). The Bluejays won a 48-36 rebounding battle, outcreating the Beavers with 23 assists compared to Bemidji's eight.
The Bluejays return to action on Saturday night at 9 p.m. when it hosts Marquette. The game will be broadcast on FSN Midwest (and other Regional networks) and can be heard on KOZN (1620 AM).
NOTES: The game counted as an exhibition for Bemidji State, but the win and all stats from the contest will count for Creighton ... Greg McDermott is now 13-1 in his career against Bemidji State ... Creighton is 14-1 at home this season and 16-1 at all sites against unranked teams ... Creighton has won 23 straight non-conference home games ... Creighton has won 105 straight games at home against teams that enter the contest with a record of .500 or better ... Creighton has won 35 straight when shooting 50 percent or better from the field ... Tyler Clement had a career-high 11 points ... Marcus Foster has tied a CenturyLink Center Omaha single-season record with 52 three-pointers this season, matching a mark once set by Booker Woodfox in 19 home games in 2008-09 ... Marcus Foster's 79 three-pointers this season are tied for seventh-most in CU history with Kyle Korver from 2001-02 ... Jacob Epperson went 3-for-3 from three-point range, the first shots from distance in his young career ... Marcus Foster moved past Ethan Wragge and is now 27th in Creighton history with 1,166 career points as a Bluejay ... Khyri Thomas moved past Austin Chatman for 38th in CU history and now owns 1,019 career points ... Creighton avoided playing three consecutive one-point games for the first time since 1974-75 ... Creighton missed multiple free throws on the same trip to the line in the first half for the first time since December 18, 2017. CU made 116 different trips to the line in between ... Creighton now owns three wins this season after trailing by 10 or more points and improved to 27-25 all-time in 52 games in which it has trailed by 10 or more at any point inside CenturyLink Center Omaha ... Creighton's nine blocked shots tied a CenturyLink Center Omaha record for the program .. Creighton is ranked No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches poll, but is not in the Associated Press Top 25.
Team Stats
BEMIDJI
CU
FG%
.270
.521
3FG%
.240
.361
FT%
.750
.625
RB
36
48
TO
16
6
STL
3
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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