Ryan Kalkbrenner saved the Blue Jays in their season opener on Wednesday night.
Kalkbrenner dropped a career-high 49 points to lift No. 15 Creighton past UT-Rio Grande Valley 99-86 at CHI Health Center in Omaha. He finished just two points behind Creighton’s single-game scoring record, and he became the first player in Big East history to drop 40 points or more in a season opener.
The 7-foot-1 center also shot a near-perfect 20-of-22 from the field and went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line with a pair of 3-pointers. The Blue Jays, and even coach Greg McDermott, all tried to get him to score one last time on their last few possessions to reach the 50-point mark as well, but Kalkbrenner didn’t seem interested.
But without Kalkbrenner’s unprecedented performance, McDermott’s group would have been in trouble. The Vaqueros stuck with Creighton all the way, scoring 48 points in the second half to keep the game in single digits.
Steven Ashworth was the only Creighton starter to hit double figures. He added 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, although 17 of his points came from the free-throw line.
Hasan Abdul Hakim led the Vaqueros with 26 points and 11 rebounds, and both Cliff Davis and DK Thorn added 17 points each. UT-Rio Grande Valley went just 6-25, the finals in the WAC last season before making the jump to the Southland Conference this season under new head coach Khalil Fennell.
Creightin returns to action on Sunday against Fairleigh Dickinson.
This post will be updated soon with more information.
