Friday, November 10
Omaha, Neb.
8:00 PM
Creighton University
1-0
92
vs
76
Yale
0-1
1
2
F
Yale
35
41
76
Creighton
47
45
92
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Men's Basketball Opens 100th Season With 92-76 Win Over Yale
11/10/2017 10:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Four starters in double-figures as Bluejays win 23rd straight home opener
OMAHA, Neb. -- Four starters scored in double-figures as Creighton men's basketball opened the 2017-18 season with a 92-76 win over Yale on Friday night. The victory was Creighton's 23rd straight victory in a home opener and came before 16,611 fans.
Marcus Foster had 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting while Khyri Thomas chipped in 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting for CU. Toby Hegner added 11 points and Martin Krampelj tallied career-highs of 12 points and nine rebounds in his first career start.
Yale was led by 18 points from Blake Reynolds, but played without projected starters Mikai Mason and Jordan Bruner, who were both injured. Joining Reynods in double-figures were Paul Atkinson (12 points), Trey Phills (12) and Alex Copeland (10). Star guard Miye Oni was limited to nine points.
Foster dished to Thomas for a corner three-pointer on CU's first possession, and the Jays trailed for just 20 seconds on the evening. Creighton used a 13-3 run to build a 33-21 lead and took a 47-35 lead into the half.
CU's lead remained in double-figures the entire second half, as a Thomas and Davion Mintz had all the points in a 7-0 run to extend the margin to 54-37 with 17:55 to go. Another 7-0 run gave Creighton a 76-53 lead at the midpoint of the second stanza, and CU's lead would reach as large as 27 (85-58) after a steal and slam by Kaleb Joseph for his first hoop as a Bluejay.
Mintz and freshman Ty-Shon Alexander each had five assists and just one turnover while running the point for the Bluejays, and fellow freshman Mitch Ballock debuted with five points, four rebounds and a steal in 20 minutes.
Creighton shot 58.8 percent from the floor (40-68), despite just 4-of-10 marksmanship from the foul line. Creighton won the rebound battle 36-33 and had 58 points in the paint and a 23-6 lead in transition points.
Creighton returns to action on Sunday at 6:10 pm vs. Alcorn State. The Braves lost at LSU, 99-59, on Friday evening.
NOTES: Greg McDermott won his 16th straight season-opener as a head coach ... Creighton has won 36 straight home games against winless teams ... Creighton has won 100 straight home games against teams that enter the contest with a record of .500 or worse ... Creighton is now 89-11 in home openers all-time and has gone 85-15 all-time in season-openers at all sites ... Creighton has won 20 of its last 21 season openers ... Creighton has won 24 straight home games played on a Friday, last losing on a Friday at home in 1975 ... Marcus Foster has scored in double-figures in 19 straight games and Khyri Thomas has drained a three-pointer in 15 consecutive contests ... Creighton has won 59 straight games when scoring 44 or more points in the first half ... Greg McDermott's teams are now 45-2 as a Division I head coach when his teams score 90 or more points ... Toby Hegner tied a career-high with two blocked shots and also threw down his fourth career dunk ... Creighton has won 58 of its last 59 regular-season home games in November ... The BIG EAST went 8-0 on Friday.
Marcus Foster had 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting while Khyri Thomas chipped in 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting for CU. Toby Hegner added 11 points and Martin Krampelj tallied career-highs of 12 points and nine rebounds in his first career start.
Yale was led by 18 points from Blake Reynolds, but played without projected starters Mikai Mason and Jordan Bruner, who were both injured. Joining Reynods in double-figures were Paul Atkinson (12 points), Trey Phills (12) and Alex Copeland (10). Star guard Miye Oni was limited to nine points.
Foster dished to Thomas for a corner three-pointer on CU's first possession, and the Jays trailed for just 20 seconds on the evening. Creighton used a 13-3 run to build a 33-21 lead and took a 47-35 lead into the half.
CU's lead remained in double-figures the entire second half, as a Thomas and Davion Mintz had all the points in a 7-0 run to extend the margin to 54-37 with 17:55 to go. Another 7-0 run gave Creighton a 76-53 lead at the midpoint of the second stanza, and CU's lead would reach as large as 27 (85-58) after a steal and slam by Kaleb Joseph for his first hoop as a Bluejay.
Mintz and freshman Ty-Shon Alexander each had five assists and just one turnover while running the point for the Bluejays, and fellow freshman Mitch Ballock debuted with five points, four rebounds and a steal in 20 minutes.
Creighton shot 58.8 percent from the floor (40-68), despite just 4-of-10 marksmanship from the foul line. Creighton won the rebound battle 36-33 and had 58 points in the paint and a 23-6 lead in transition points.
Creighton returns to action on Sunday at 6:10 pm vs. Alcorn State. The Braves lost at LSU, 99-59, on Friday evening.
NOTES: Greg McDermott won his 16th straight season-opener as a head coach ... Creighton has won 36 straight home games against winless teams ... Creighton has won 100 straight home games against teams that enter the contest with a record of .500 or worse ... Creighton is now 89-11 in home openers all-time and has gone 85-15 all-time in season-openers at all sites ... Creighton has won 20 of its last 21 season openers ... Creighton has won 24 straight home games played on a Friday, last losing on a Friday at home in 1975 ... Marcus Foster has scored in double-figures in 19 straight games and Khyri Thomas has drained a three-pointer in 15 consecutive contests ... Creighton has won 59 straight games when scoring 44 or more points in the first half ... Greg McDermott's teams are now 45-2 as a Division I head coach when his teams score 90 or more points ... Toby Hegner tied a career-high with two blocked shots and also threw down his fourth career dunk ... Creighton has won 58 of its last 59 regular-season home games in November ... The BIG EAST went 8-0 on Friday.
Team Stats
YALE
CU
FG%
.455
.588
3FG%
.296
.320
FT%
.800
.400
RB
33
36
TO
13
11
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
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