Jamiya Neal scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the first half, helping visiting Creighton fend off No. 14 UConn 68-63 on Saturday afternoon in Big East action in Storrs, Conn.
Neal shot 10-of-16 from the floor and hit three 3-pointers for the Bluejays (12-6, 5-2), who led by as many as nine points with seven minutes to go in regulation. UConn, however, used an 11-1 run to take a one-point lead by the 3:27 mark.
Ryan Kalkbrenner (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Steven Ashworth (12 points, nine assists) were each 4-for-4 from the foul line in the second half as Creighton won for the fifth time in six games.
UConn (13-5, 5-2) lost for only the second time in an 11-game span, despite 15 points from both Hassan Diarra and Solo Ball.
Diarra hit three 3-pointers, while Diarra had seven assists and six rebounds.
The Bluejays immediately followed UConn’s 12-2 run to take the lead with nine straight points, with a pair of Neal dunks bookending the segment to make it a 50-43 lead. Ashworth also found Kalkbrenner for a hammer finish.
Diarra hit a pair of key baskets to bring the Huskies within four, but a 5-0 run on an Ashworth three and Jasen Green layup upped the Creighton lead to a game-high nine with seven minutes left. Ball’s back-to-back baskets and two Johnson free throws made up a UConn run to a 59-58 lead.
A Kalkbrenner jumper put the Bluejays back in front before helping the key foul-shooting effort. All of their points during a 10-4 closing run came at the line.
Creighton closed the first half on a 10-2 run to lead 35-28 after falling into an early 10-4 hole. Consecutive 3-pointers by Ball helped the hosts go on an 8-0 run before the game was five minutes old.
Neal sparked the Bluejays with the first 10 points of a 15-4 run that flipped the score at 11:43. The Arizona State transfer scored twice from distance and exploded to the rim for a hammer dunk. Ashworth’s rainbow three put Creighton in front.
Jackson McAndrew’s deep 3 from the right gave Creighton a five-point lead with 6:49 to play, but Stewart scored five before Ball hit a mid-range jumper to help put the Huskies back in front less than two minutes later.
A Neal jumper and Isaac Traudt’s three free throws after a Stewart foul marked a big swing before halftime.
–Field Level Media
