OMAHA, Neb. — The Creighton men’s basketball team used a game-ending 11-0 run and rallied from a 16 point deficit in the final 15 minutes to upend SIU Edwardsville 70-65 on Saturday, November 27.
The win lifted Creighton to 6-1 on the season, while SIUE fell to 2-5 overall.
Trailing 56-40 with just under 15 minutes remaining, the Bluejays posted their second double-digit comeback in three home games this month.
Senior Ryan Hawkins started the comeback for the Bluejays with a three-ball from the corner with 14:56 on the clock. Down 58-43 moments later, Creighton started an 11-1 surge to get back into the contest. Four Bluejays contributed during the run, getting four points from sophomore Ryan Kalkbrenner, three from freshman Trey Alexander as well as two by Hawkins and freshman Arthur Kaluma to get the Bluejays within five at 59-54 with 8:47 left.
Still down 65-59 with 5:07 remaining in the game, the Bluejay defense locked up SIUE to allow an 11-0 run for the win. Hawkins pulled the Bluejays within four via a second-chance layup, then a critical three-pointer from Alexander made it a one-point game at 65-64. Creighton seized its first lead since 24-21 with 2:10 showing on the clock on a driving layup by Alexander late in the shot clock.
Down the stretch the Bluejays got an interior bucket by Kalkbrenner and a pair of free throws by freshman Ryan Nembhard to seal the win as SIUE missed 16 of its final 18 shots.
Early in the game the Bluejays jumped out to a quick 7-1 edge, getting contributions from Kalkbrenner, O’Connell and Kaluma, but the Cougars found some rhythm by getting to the rim. The result was 32 points on the interior as SIUE took control of the first half, to take a 21-14 advantage.
Creighton responded with a 10-0 run, getting a pair of three-pointers from O’Connell and one more from Hawkins to reclaim the lead at 24-21. The Cougars returned to its successful formula to claim a 42-30 advantage as the two teams went into the locker room at the break.
Hawkins led four Bluejays to reach double-figures in points with 14 and added five steals. Kalkbrenner finished with 13 points and five blocked shots, Kaluma and O’Connell delivered 12 and 11 respectively. CU shot 44.1 percent for the game and blocked a season-high nine shots while also picking up 10 steals.
Ray’Sean Tayler led SIUE with 17 points in the loss, while both DeeJuan Pruitt and Shamar Wright each finished with 13 points. The Cougars outrebounded CU 39-35 and had 44 points in the paint.
Creighton returns to the hardwood on Tuesday, November 30 as the Bluejays host North Dakota State at 8 p.m.
