Ryan Kalkbrenner recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 35 points and 12 rebounds to lead visiting Creighton to an 80-69 win and a season series sweep over Providence on Wednesday night.
Despite an 0-for-5 start, Kalkbrenner combined with fellow senior Steven Ashworth (23 points, six assists) for a 20-for-38 effort from the field. The duo scored 58 of 80 points for the Bluejays (17-6, 10-2 Big East), who have won eight consecutive games.
Creighton never trailed after Ashworth was fouled on a 3-point attempt and knocked down three free throws with 12:29 left, though a Ryan Mela layup 2:10 later tied the score at 58-58.
The senior duo led the way for the Bluejays all night long, but ran off 24 straight points before a Jamiya Neal layup with 2:12 put the game away. Creighton pitched a shutout for the final 3:41 and allowed only a Bensley Joseph three over the final five minutes.
Corey Floyd Jr. led the Friars (11-12, 5-7) with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jayden Pierre had 14 points and five assists, while Rich Barron added 11 points.
Ashworth found Kalkbrenner for an alley-oop with 9:24 left, and after Barron’s trey two minutes later, Kalkbrenner scored seven straight points before an Ashworth make from distance moved the score to 74-66 at 4:41 to go.
Kalkbrenner started the second half with back-to-back baskets before a Jasen Green 3-pointer made it a 9-4 run, but the Friars responded with an 11-3 segment and took the lead with 13:04 left following two Floyd jumpers and a Joseph reverse.
In a first half that featured five ties and nine lead changes alone, Creighton took a 30-29 lead into the break after Kalkbrenner sank three free throws after being fouled behind the arc.
The two teams combined for just one made field goal inside the arc over the first eight-plus minutes. Jackson McAndrew hit the Bluejays’ first two, but Mela’s knockdown capped an 8-0 run that gave the Friars an 11-6 lead.
The hosts led by as many as six following Oswin Erhunmwunse’s tip-in at 9:54. Just a minute later, the Bluejays crept within one as Fredrick King dunked and Ashworth slipped free for a trey from the right.
A 7-0 Creighton spurt by the 5:23 mark included five from Ashworth, who later set up Kalkbrenner for a finish and a 3-point play to flip the score at 33-31. Pierre’s last-minute three gave Providence a 39-37 lead.
–Field Level Media
