Saturday, December 11
Sioux Falls, S.D. (Sanford Pentagon)
11:00 AM
Creighton University
8-2,0-0Big East
83
vs
71
BYU
8-2,0-0WCC
1
2
F
#24 BYU
30
41
71
Creighton
48
35
83
Ryan Hawkins
Photo by: Creighton Athletics
Men's Basketball Takes Down #24 BYU, 83-71
12/11/2021 12:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays beat top-25 team for ninth straight season
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Ryan Hawkins, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Ryan Nembhard combined for 56 points in the return to assistant coach Ryan Miller's home state as the Creighton men's basketball team picked up an 83-71 win over No. 24 BYU on Saturday, Dec. 11 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Bluejays led by as much as 21 in the contest (57-36), then had to withstand a late push from a veteran BYU squad that already owned wins over the likes of San Diego State, Oregon and Utah this winter. Both teams are now 8-2 on the season, and Creighton has now beaten at least one ranked team in each of the past nine seasons.
After BYU won the tip and scored 20 seconds into the game, Creighton answered with a 10-0 run to take an early eight point lead and would not trail again. Kalkbrenner started the burst with a traditional three-point play before back-to-back buckets from Hawkins. A jumper from Alex O'Connell followed to put CU in command early.
BYU would use the long ball to stay close before the Bluejays countered with a 12-0 run to go up 36-19 and force a timeout from Cougars coach Mark Pope. Nembhard had five points and Kalkbrenner added four more in the flurry, which also included a three-ball by O'Connell. BYU got five straight points from Alex Barcello to force a Bluejay timeout before Hawkins got loose again. The sixth-year senior scored eight straight points in a span of 57 seconds to balloon the lead to 44-24 with four minutes left in the half.
Creighton never let BYU get closer than 10 in the closing minutes, as Hawkins threw down a thunderous dunk over Te'Jon Lucas in transition with just over five minutes to go and O'Connell hit a second clutch three-pointer to push the Bluejay lead back to 15.
Hawkins tied his season-high with 25 points, while Nembhard (17), O'Connell (15) and Kalkbrenner (14) also scored in double-figures. Creighton made 21-of-25 free throws and outscored BYU 36-28 in the paint. CU also blocked seven shots, with five by Kalkbrenner and two from Hawkins.
Barcello made five three-pointers and paced BYU with 28 points. The Cougars shot 12-of-23 from three-point range but made just 15-of-46 shots from two-point territory. Gideon George had 11 rebounds off the bench to lead all players. The Cougars won the rebound battle 42-36 but had 15 turnovers that CU converted into 17 points.
Creighton returns to the floor on Tuesday when it hosts Arizona State at 7 p.m. on FS1.
NOTES: Creighton was playing its first neutral site game not affiliated with a tournament since Dec. 12, 1970, when it met North Carolina in Charlotte ... The game was Creighton's first played inside the state of South Dakota since beating South Dakota State in Brookings on Dec. 3, 1975 ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 923 games in a row and 294 consecutive contests before halftime ... Creighton has now beaten a top-25 team each of the last nine seasons ... Creighton is now 25-36 under Greg McDermott vs. top-25 teams, and 43-151 all-time in program history ... Creighton improved to 1-2 all-time against ranked BYU teams and 2-4 all-time against teams ranked exactly 24th ... Teams with Ryan Hawkins improved to 167-10 all-time at the collegiate level, including 40-1 on neutral floors and 4-0 at Sanford Pentagon ... Hawkins is also 10-0 in contests following a loss ... Ryan Nembhard owns 131 points after 10 career games, most of any Bluejay in the last 25 years and three more than Doug McDermott's 128 ... Alex O'Connell's 15 points were his most since scoring a season-high 20 points in the opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The Bluejays led by as much as 21 in the contest (57-36), then had to withstand a late push from a veteran BYU squad that already owned wins over the likes of San Diego State, Oregon and Utah this winter. Both teams are now 8-2 on the season, and Creighton has now beaten at least one ranked team in each of the past nine seasons.
After BYU won the tip and scored 20 seconds into the game, Creighton answered with a 10-0 run to take an early eight point lead and would not trail again. Kalkbrenner started the burst with a traditional three-point play before back-to-back buckets from Hawkins. A jumper from Alex O'Connell followed to put CU in command early.
BYU would use the long ball to stay close before the Bluejays countered with a 12-0 run to go up 36-19 and force a timeout from Cougars coach Mark Pope. Nembhard had five points and Kalkbrenner added four more in the flurry, which also included a three-ball by O'Connell. BYU got five straight points from Alex Barcello to force a Bluejay timeout before Hawkins got loose again. The sixth-year senior scored eight straight points in a span of 57 seconds to balloon the lead to 44-24 with four minutes left in the half.
Creighton never let BYU get closer than 10 in the closing minutes, as Hawkins threw down a thunderous dunk over Te'Jon Lucas in transition with just over five minutes to go and O'Connell hit a second clutch three-pointer to push the Bluejay lead back to 15.
Hawkins tied his season-high with 25 points, while Nembhard (17), O'Connell (15) and Kalkbrenner (14) also scored in double-figures. Creighton made 21-of-25 free throws and outscored BYU 36-28 in the paint. CU also blocked seven shots, with five by Kalkbrenner and two from Hawkins.
Barcello made five three-pointers and paced BYU with 28 points. The Cougars shot 12-of-23 from three-point range but made just 15-of-46 shots from two-point territory. Gideon George had 11 rebounds off the bench to lead all players. The Cougars won the rebound battle 42-36 but had 15 turnovers that CU converted into 17 points.
Creighton returns to the floor on Tuesday when it hosts Arizona State at 7 p.m. on FS1.
NOTES: Creighton was playing its first neutral site game not affiliated with a tournament since Dec. 12, 1970, when it met North Carolina in Charlotte ... The game was Creighton's first played inside the state of South Dakota since beating South Dakota State in Brookings on Dec. 3, 1975 ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 923 games in a row and 294 consecutive contests before halftime ... Creighton has now beaten a top-25 team each of the last nine seasons ... Creighton is now 25-36 under Greg McDermott vs. top-25 teams, and 43-151 all-time in program history ... Creighton improved to 1-2 all-time against ranked BYU teams and 2-4 all-time against teams ranked exactly 24th ... Teams with Ryan Hawkins improved to 167-10 all-time at the collegiate level, including 40-1 on neutral floors and 4-0 at Sanford Pentagon ... Hawkins is also 10-0 in contests following a loss ... Ryan Nembhard owns 131 points after 10 career games, most of any Bluejay in the last 25 years and three more than Doug McDermott's 128 ... Alex O'Connell's 15 points were his most since scoring a season-high 20 points in the opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Team Stats
BYU
CU
FG%
.391
.450
3FG%
.522
.333
FT%
.625
.840
RB
42
36
TO
15
9
STL
3
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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