Kalkbrenner misses only 1 shot, scores 24 in No. 15 Creighton's 96-70 win over Fairleigh Dickinson
Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner, right, shoots against Fairleigh Dickinson's Dylan Jones, center, and Bismark Nsiah during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. Credit: AP/Rebecca S. Gratz
OMAHA, Neb. — Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 24 points, Steven Ashworth added 15 points on five 3-pointers and No. 15 Creighton rolled past Fairleigh Dickinson 96-70 Sunday evening.
The victory gave coach Greg McDermott win No. 327 in 15 seasons at Creighton, tying Dana Altman for the program's most coaching wins.
Kalkbrenner was coming off a 49-point game against UT-Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday, the second-highest single-game total in program history. After making a school-record 20 field goals on 22 attempts in that game, he went 9 of 10 against the Knights (1-2).
The 7-foot-1 Big East preseason player of the year made one 3-pointer as the Bluejays broke the game open late in the first half.
Arizona State transfer Jamiya Neal and freshman Jackson McAndrew had 13 points apiece, and Pop Isaacs added 12 for Creighton (2-0).
Terrence Brown scored 19 points to lead the Knights. Dylan Jones, who made 4 of 8 3s, and Bismark Nsiah added 12 apiece.
Takeaways
Fairleigh Dickinson: Creighton was the second of three power-conference opponents the Knights will play in their first four games. They lost 113-72 at Miami in their opener on Monday and hung with the Bluejays for the first 15 minutes.
Creighton's Steven Ashworth, right, shoots against Fairleigh Dickinson's Brayden Reynolds during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. Credit: AP/Rebecca S. Gratz
Creighton: The Bluejays have won two straight to start a season for the 14th time in McDermott's 15 years.
Key moment
Creighton used a 24-8 run at the end of the first half to turn a 26-all tie into a 50-34 lead at the break.
Key stat
Among players with at least 30 field-goal attempts, Kalkbrenner is shooting a nation-leading 90.6% (29 of 32), according to Sportradar. Marquette's Kam Jones is next closest at 76.7% (23 of 30).
Up next
Fairleigh Dickinson visits Nebraska on Wednesday, the same day Creighton hosts Houston Christian.