Creighton Men Win At Butler 80-76
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Seniors Ryan Kalkbrenner, Steven Ashworth and Jamiya Neal combined for 62 points and 26 rebounds on Saturday in Creighton's 80-76 win at Butler. The trio scored 32 of Creighton's 37 points in the second half.
Creighton improved to 10-6 overall and 3-2 in the BIG EAST with the victory, while Butler dropped to 7-10 and is winless in six BIG EAST contests.
Butler scored the first four points of the game before Creighton answered with an 11-2 run to prompt a Bulldogs timeout. Kalkbrenner had a pair of baskets in transition, Ashworth dished three early assists and Jasen Green capped the run with a putback tip dunk. The teams exchanged leads 13 times in the first half as the squads went to the half tied at 43-all.
Ashworth approached a triple-double in the first half alone with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Kalkbrenner had 12 points, two steals and a block. Butler was led by 11 points from Patrick McCaffrey and 10 by Pierre Brooks. The Bulldogs owned a 14-2 edge in bench points, and 9-2 lead in points off turnovers.
A 10-2 run inspired by Kalkbrenner helped the Bluejays to a 59-54 lead with 11 minutes to play. After Butler center Andre Screen stemmed the run with a three-point play, back-to-back-to-back hoops from Jamiya Neal helped CU take its largest lead of the game at 65-57. A Kalkbrenner three-pointer from the top of the key, the center's season-high third triple, extended the margin to 68-58 with just under eight minutes to go. A long two-pointer by Isaac Traudt extended the CU lead to 70-58.
The Bulldogs got back-to-back three-pointers by Boden Kapke and McCaffrey to bring the crowd to life and narrow the deficit to 72-66 with four minutes left, only to have Ashworth bury his only triple of the day to return the lead to nine heading into the final media timeout. Jahmyl Telfort's first three-pointer of the game helped draw Butler to within four points (77-73) with 56.0 seconds left
Rather than play it out, Butler elected to foul Ashworth in the backcourt with 55.0 seconds left, and the nation's leading free throw shooter made both. McCaffrey answered with a three-ball and CU missed the front-end of a free-throw bonus. BU went inside to Pierre Brooks, who was blocked. On the inbound McCaffrey missed a potentially game-tying three-pointer and Neal hauled in the rebound. He quickly shoveled it to Ashworth, who made the first free throw that accounted for the game's final points.
Despite throwing up courtside minutes before tipoff, Ashworth finished with 22 points, nine assists and a career-high 12 rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. Kalkbrenner had 26 points, nine blocks and a season-best six blocks, while Neal added 14 points and Jackson McAndrew a dozen. Creighton shot 50.8 percent for the game and won the rebound battle 36-33.
Butler was led by McCaffrey's 21 points. Kapke had a career-high 13 points, more than doubling his season-high of six. The Bulldogs won the bench point battle 24-4 and shot 30-of-63 from the floor (47.6 percent).
Creighton returns to the court on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts Providence at CHI Health Center Omaha.