Tuesday, February 28
Omaha, Neb.
7:00 PM
Creighton University
23-7, 10-7
82
vs
68
St. John's
13-17, 7-10
1
2
F
St. John's
30
38
68
Creighton
43
39
82
Connor Schultz, Cole Huff, Zach Hanson and Isaiah Zierden
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Men's Basketball Sends Seniors Out With 82-68 Victory
2/28/2017 10:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Creighton never trails while earning 10th BIG EAST win
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton started the game on an 11-0 run and never trailed in an 82-68 victory before 17,006 fans at CenturyLink Center Omaha on Tuesday.
Marcus Foster had 18 points to lead Creighton (23-7, 10-7 BIG EAST), while Khyri Thomas finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Creighton started Cole Huff, Isaiah Zierden and Zach Hanson on Senior Day, and the trio combined for 21 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
St. John's (13-17, 7-10 BIG EAST), was led by 16 points and a game-high six steals from Shamorie Ponds.
Zierden fed Hanson for Creighton's first hoop in the opening seconds. Two baskets by Foster, a hoop from Thomas and a Justin Patton tip-in fueled the 11-0 rampage to open the contest. St. John's got no closer than two (18-16) the rest of the night.
CU's lead was 29-25 with three minutes left in the first half before a 14-5 flurry gave the Bluejays a 43-30 halftime lead. The final score before the break came on a tip-in by Toby Hegner, part of CU's 49-38 rebounding advantage on the night.
Creighton's lead stayed in double-figures until a personal 8-0 run from Red Storm guard Malik Ellison trimmed the margin to 58-53 with 9;36 to go. But a Thomas lay-up and Foster jumper resisted the Red Storm rally and SJU got no closer the rest of the way.
Creighton shot 42.6 percent overall and made 18-of-22 foul shots. St. John's shot 40.9 percent and was 6-of-25 from long-range and 8-of-17 at the charity stripe. SJU also blocked six shots.
Creighton closes the regular-season on Saturday with a 1:30 pm game at Marquette. A Bluejay victory can clinch the No. 3 seed for Creighton in next week's BIG EAST Tournament, Presented by Jeep.
NOTES: Zach Hanson made his first start of the season, while Isaiah Zierden made his third start, as part of Creighton's Senior Day line-up ... Justin Patton came off the bench for the first time as a collegian and had eight points and nine rebounds to pace a bench that contributed 29 points, 19 rebounds and six assists in 64 minutes overall ... Khyri Thomas had his third double-double of the season, and career ... Thomas' 12 rebounds tied a career-high ... Creighton has not trailed in its last 158:59 of play against St. John's ... Creighton improved to 6-0 all-time against St. John's in Omaha meetings, and is 8-7 in the series overall at all sites ... Creighton improved to 20-2 in its last 22 Senior Days ... Marcus Foster set a CenturyLink Center Omaha record for three-point attempts in a season with 109 ... Cole Huff's streak of 14 straight games with a three-pointer was snapped, as the senior went 0-for-2 from deep ... Creighton has won 99 straight home games against teams with a .500 record or worse entering the game ... Martin Krampelj had four dunks, including three tip dunks, while finishing with eight points and five rebounds in nine minutes overall ... Isaiah Zierden has now made 23 straight free throws after tonight's 6-for-6 outing at the charity stripe ... Marcus Foster has scored in double-figures in 13 straight games ... Creighton's nine-game home sellout streak was snapped ... Creighton has now hosted 296,013 fans this season, fourth-most in program history. The 17,413 home attendance average is on pace to rank second in team history and ranks fifth nationally this season ... The win was Greg McDermott's 100th home victory as Creighton head coach.
Thank you to our senior from the @manajays, Connor Schultz! #GoJays #TakeFlight #BIGEASThoops pic.twitter.com/Epl8OgMDnF
— Creighton Basketball (@BluejayMBB) March 1, 2017
Thank you to senior guard Isaiah Zierden! #GoJays #TakeFlight #BIGEASThoops pic.twitter.com/ODszGXFZqW
— Creighton Basketball (@BluejayMBB) March 1, 2017
Thank you to senior center Zach Hanson! #GoJays #TakeFlight #BIGEASThoops pic.twitter.com/uEl6I2kxy7
— Creighton Basketball (@BluejayMBB) March 1, 2017
Thank you to senior forward Cole Huff! #GoJays #TakeFlight #BIGEASThoops pic.twitter.com/oRgcXlKMbu
— Creighton Basketball (@BluejayMBB) March 1, 2017
Team Stats
SJU
CU
FG%
.409
.426
3FG%
.240
.316
FT%
.471
.818
RB
38
49
TO
15
17
STL
10
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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