OMAHA, NEB. — Four men scored in double-figures as the No. 11 Creighton mens basketball team opened its season with a 69-58 win over North Dakota State on Sunday, Nov. 29.
The win moved Creighton to 1-0 on the season with its 26th straight win in a home opener, while North Dakota State fell to 0-3.
Earning the start in his Creighton debut, Antwann Jones provided a spark early with nine consecutive Bluejay points to push Creighton out to its first lead. The Bluejays trailed 10-4 early before senior Mitch Ballock connected from just inside the arc to begin a 16-2 run. Ballocks jump shot pushed the Kansas sharpshooter over 1,000 points in his Creighton career. Sophomore Shereef Mitchell followed with a trey from the corner to make it 10-9, which set the stage for Jones. The Florida native delivered a driving layup to put the Bluejays up 11-10. After the Bison reclaimed the edge with an interior bucket, Jones scored the next seven points of the contest. Ballock capped the run with a three-pointer from the right wing to put Creighton up 20-12, and CU would not trail again.
The Bluejays pushed their advantage to 27-16 with 5:50 remaining on a mid-range jumper from Jones, then extended the edge to 12 in the closing seconds of the half on a jumper from junior Marcus Zegarowski to send Creighton into the locker room up 36-24.
While Jones was the spark for the Bluejays in the first half, junior Christian Bishop stepped forward in the second half with 13 of his game-high 16 points in the final 20 minutes. Bishop scored the Bluejays first seven points in the second half, helping to push Creightons lead to as much as 47-28 with 16:18 left. CUs lead remained in double-figures the rest of the afternoon.
Creighton continued to move the ball around, racking up 10 assists on 14 made baskets in the second half to coast to the victory.
Bishops 16 points led the way for Creighton, while Zegarowski (12 points), Jones (11) and Ballock (11) also reached double figures. Zegarowski dished six assists, and Ballock snared a team-leading seven rebounds. Creighton had 18 assists on 27 baskets and just four turnovers in the game. CU owned a 13-2 lead in fast break points.
North Dakota State closed the game on a 14-2 run, getting 16 points from Rocky Kreuser, 12 from Tyree Eady and 11 by Maleeck Harden-Hayes. Lincoln native Sam Griesel led all players with nine rebounds and topped the defending Summit League champions with four assists as well. NDSU won the rebound battle, 41-27.
The Bluejays return to the court on Tuesday, Dec. 1 as Creighton hosts crosstown rival Nebraska-Omaha at 4:00 pm at CHI Health Center Omaha.
