Saturday, February 15
Omaha, Neb.
6:30 PM
Creighton University
20-6, 9-4BE
93
vs
64
DePaul
13-12, 1-11BE
1
2
F
DePaul
28
36
64
#23 Creighton
42
51
93
Ty-Shon Alexander
Photo by: Chelsea Nicholson
Second Half Surge Propels Men's Basketball to 93-64 Win Over DePaul
2/15/2020 9:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Creighton clinches 20th different 20-win season in last 22 campaigns
Omaha, Neb. -- Leading 42-28 at the half, the No. 23 Creighton men's basketball team delivered a knockout burst with 23 of the first 28 points in the second half as the Bluejays breezed by DePaul 93-64 on Saturday, Feb. 15th.
The win moved Creighton to 20-6 on the season and 9-4 in BIG EAST play, while reaching the 20-win plateau for the 20th time in the last 22 seasons following Saturday's contest. DePaul fell to 13-12 overall and 1-11 in conference play after a 12-1 start to the season that included road wins at Minnesota, Iowa and Boston College.
Down 5-4 early in the first half, Creighton began to get its offense rolling as junior Mitch Ballock knocked down a corner trey, then sophomore Christian Bishop flushed home a second chance dunk to give Creighton a 9-5 edge (15:49). CU never trailed again.
Knotted at 10-10 moments later (13:28), the Bluejays seized control of the game with a 12-0 run, including nine straight in a span of 80 seconds. Junior Denzel Mahoney got the Creighton surge started with a driving layup, after a defensive stop Mahoney added two free throws to make it 14-10. Consecutive Blue Demon turnovers fed Creighton's fast paced offense as Ballock delivered his second trey of the game, then junior Ty-Shon Alexander made it 19-10 (12:08) with a fast-break dunk. Creighton's run was capped by a three-pointer from sophomore Marcus Zegarowski that pushed the Bluejay edge to 22-10. Creighton extended its lead to as much as 16 twice in the opening frame, first at 31-15 (7:52), taking a 42-28 edge into the locker room at the half.
Coming out of the locker room the Bluejays were not just hot, they were sizzling. Creighton opened the half with an 11-0 run and went on to hit its first eight shots of the half, holding a 65-33 lead with 12:59 remaining. Five different Bluejays contributed to the surge, including five points each from Alexander, Zegarowski and freshman Shereef Mitchell. The burst featured three dunks in a 67-second span that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
DePaul chipped away at Creighton's advantage, using a 13-3 run to make it 73-50 with 7:10 remaining, but the Bluejays went back to work beyond the arc as getting treys from Zegarowski and Alexander to push the lead by to 79-50 (5:49).
One key to the Bluejays lopsided win was a program record-tying 18 steals. DePaul closed the game with 21 turnovers, leading to 30 Creighton points. Another critical piece of the Bluejay puzzle Saturday night was scoring in transition as the Bluejays closed the game with 26 fast break points.
Alexander led all scorers with 24 points on the night to equal a season-high, while four other Bluejays posted double-digits. The other Bluejays posting double figures were Jefferson and Ballock with 12 points and Mitchell and Zegarowski with 11 points. Creighton shot 57.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range in 26 attempts. CU also had a season-high 25 assists in 33 field goals.
DePaul got a game-high 20 points from Charlie Moore, while Romeo Weems finished with 12 points. All-BIG EAST forward Paul Reed was held to season-lows with three points and three rebounds.
The Bluejays return to the hardwood on Tuesday, Feb. 18th as Creighton travels to Milwaukee, Wis. to face Marquette at 7:30 pm. The game will be broadcast on FS1.
NOTES: Ty-Shon Alexander's 24 points moved him into 29th in Creighton history with 1,152 career points, passing Khyri Thomas (1,140) and tying him with Dane Watts ... Creighton has won 17 of its last 18 meetings vs. DePaul, and won 15 of the last 16 encounters by double-figures ... Creighton has won 12 games in a row against DePaul ... Creighton now has 2,035 points this season, its 14th straight season with 2,000 or more points ... Creighton improved to 59-4 under Greg McDermott when scoring 90 points or more ... The only teams with more 20-win seasons than Creighton's 20 in the last 22 campaigns are Gonzaga (22), Duke (22), Kansas (22), Kentucky (21) ... Shereef Mitchell had a season-high 11 points in his first game since a January 26 injury ... Mitchell also made his first career three-pointer, which came in his 10th career attempt ... Denzel Mahoney went 4-for-5 at the charity stripe, but missed his first attempt to snap a streak of 21 straight made free throws ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 877 straight games and a trey before halftime in 248 games in a row ... Creighton improved to 11-0 this year when Mitch Ballock makes four or more three-pointers ... Mitch Ballock now owns 79 three-pointers this season, tied with Kyle Korver for the second-most in program history by a junior. Only Tad Ackerman (82) has more ... Creighton has scored 70 or more points in 19 of its 20 wins this year and has scored 75 or more in all 15 wins over DePaul since joining the league ... Creighton improved to 11-1 when holding opponents under 70 points ... Creighton made 14-of-18 free throws, while DePaul was 4-of-11 at the stripe ... Creighton improved to 9-0 this year when Ty-Shon Alexander attempts six or more free throws ... Greg McDermott won his 65th BIG EAST game, tying him with Jim O'Brien for 20th in league history.
The win moved Creighton to 20-6 on the season and 9-4 in BIG EAST play, while reaching the 20-win plateau for the 20th time in the last 22 seasons following Saturday's contest. DePaul fell to 13-12 overall and 1-11 in conference play after a 12-1 start to the season that included road wins at Minnesota, Iowa and Boston College.
Down 5-4 early in the first half, Creighton began to get its offense rolling as junior Mitch Ballock knocked down a corner trey, then sophomore Christian Bishop flushed home a second chance dunk to give Creighton a 9-5 edge (15:49). CU never trailed again.
Knotted at 10-10 moments later (13:28), the Bluejays seized control of the game with a 12-0 run, including nine straight in a span of 80 seconds. Junior Denzel Mahoney got the Creighton surge started with a driving layup, after a defensive stop Mahoney added two free throws to make it 14-10. Consecutive Blue Demon turnovers fed Creighton's fast paced offense as Ballock delivered his second trey of the game, then junior Ty-Shon Alexander made it 19-10 (12:08) with a fast-break dunk. Creighton's run was capped by a three-pointer from sophomore Marcus Zegarowski that pushed the Bluejay edge to 22-10. Creighton extended its lead to as much as 16 twice in the opening frame, first at 31-15 (7:52), taking a 42-28 edge into the locker room at the half.
Coming out of the locker room the Bluejays were not just hot, they were sizzling. Creighton opened the half with an 11-0 run and went on to hit its first eight shots of the half, holding a 65-33 lead with 12:59 remaining. Five different Bluejays contributed to the surge, including five points each from Alexander, Zegarowski and freshman Shereef Mitchell. The burst featured three dunks in a 67-second span that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
DePaul chipped away at Creighton's advantage, using a 13-3 run to make it 73-50 with 7:10 remaining, but the Bluejays went back to work beyond the arc as getting treys from Zegarowski and Alexander to push the lead by to 79-50 (5:49).
One key to the Bluejays lopsided win was a program record-tying 18 steals. DePaul closed the game with 21 turnovers, leading to 30 Creighton points. Another critical piece of the Bluejay puzzle Saturday night was scoring in transition as the Bluejays closed the game with 26 fast break points.
Alexander led all scorers with 24 points on the night to equal a season-high, while four other Bluejays posted double-digits. The other Bluejays posting double figures were Jefferson and Ballock with 12 points and Mitchell and Zegarowski with 11 points. Creighton shot 57.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range in 26 attempts. CU also had a season-high 25 assists in 33 field goals.
DePaul got a game-high 20 points from Charlie Moore, while Romeo Weems finished with 12 points. All-BIG EAST forward Paul Reed was held to season-lows with three points and three rebounds.
The Bluejays return to the hardwood on Tuesday, Feb. 18th as Creighton travels to Milwaukee, Wis. to face Marquette at 7:30 pm. The game will be broadcast on FS1.
NOTES: Ty-Shon Alexander's 24 points moved him into 29th in Creighton history with 1,152 career points, passing Khyri Thomas (1,140) and tying him with Dane Watts ... Creighton has won 17 of its last 18 meetings vs. DePaul, and won 15 of the last 16 encounters by double-figures ... Creighton has won 12 games in a row against DePaul ... Creighton now has 2,035 points this season, its 14th straight season with 2,000 or more points ... Creighton improved to 59-4 under Greg McDermott when scoring 90 points or more ... The only teams with more 20-win seasons than Creighton's 20 in the last 22 campaigns are Gonzaga (22), Duke (22), Kansas (22), Kentucky (21) ... Shereef Mitchell had a season-high 11 points in his first game since a January 26 injury ... Mitchell also made his first career three-pointer, which came in his 10th career attempt ... Denzel Mahoney went 4-for-5 at the charity stripe, but missed his first attempt to snap a streak of 21 straight made free throws ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 877 straight games and a trey before halftime in 248 games in a row ... Creighton improved to 11-0 this year when Mitch Ballock makes four or more three-pointers ... Mitch Ballock now owns 79 three-pointers this season, tied with Kyle Korver for the second-most in program history by a junior. Only Tad Ackerman (82) has more ... Creighton has scored 70 or more points in 19 of its 20 wins this year and has scored 75 or more in all 15 wins over DePaul since joining the league ... Creighton improved to 11-1 when holding opponents under 70 points ... Creighton made 14-of-18 free throws, while DePaul was 4-of-11 at the stripe ... Creighton improved to 9-0 this year when Ty-Shon Alexander attempts six or more free throws ... Greg McDermott won his 65th BIG EAST game, tying him with Jim O'Brien for 20th in league history.
Team Stats
DEPAUL
CU
FG%
.426
.579
3FG%
.421
.500
FT%
.364
.778
RB
31
34
TO
21
19
STL
11
18
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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