Creighton star Ryan Kalkbrenner drops career-high 49 points to lift Bluejays to historic season-opening win

Creighton snuck out a tight win thanks to a historic outing from Ryan Kalkbrenner on Wednesday night. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Ryan Kalkbrenner single-handedly saved the Bluejays in their season opener on Wednesday night.

Kalkbrenner dropped a career-high 49 points to lift No. 15 Creighton past UT-Rio Grande Valley 99-86 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. He finished just two points shy of Creighton’s single-game scoring record, which was set back in 1967, and he became the first player in Big East history to drop 40 points or more in a season opener.

The 7-foot-1 center shot a near-perfect 20-of-22 from the field, too, and went 7-of-8 from the free throw line with a pair of 3-pointers. The Bluejays, and even coach Greg McDermott, were all trying to get him to score one last time on their final few possessions to hit the 50-point mark, too, but Kalkbrenner didn’t seem interested.

The last player to make 20 field goals while shooting 90% or better in a Division I game was Bill Walton, who did so in the 1973 national championship game with UCLA.

“Talk about a statement … He’s one of the best players to ever play here,” McDermott said, via the Omaha World Herald’s Jon Walker.

If it weren’t for an all-time performance from Kalkbrenner, though, McDermott’s group would’ve been in trouble. The Vaqueros stuck with Creighton the entire way, and they put up 48 points in the second half to keep the game in single digits down the stretch.

Steven Ashworth was the only other Creighton starter to hit double figures. He added 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, though 17 of his points came from the free throw line. They were without Pop Isaacs, who transferred in from Texas Tech, on Wednesday night. Isaacs is recovering from a hip injury, and wasn’t quite ready to go. He averaged 15.8 points per game last season with the Red Raiders.

Hasan Abdul Hakim led the Vaqueros with 26 points and 11 rebounds, and both Cliff Davis and DK Thorn added 17 points apiece….

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-07 04:20:00

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