Creighton Men Win Over UNLV 83-65

OMAHA, Neb. -- A strong offensive performance in the second half and balanced scoring led the Creighton men's basketball team to an 83-65 victory over UNLV at CHI Health Center Omaha on Saturday, Dec. 7. 

Creighton grabbed their third consecutive win and improved to 7-3, while the Runnin' Rebels dropped their first road challenge of the season and fell to 4-4.

Senior Creighton guard Jamiya Neal led all scorers with 19 points, while nearly notching a triple-double as he collected nine rebounds and nine assists.  Following Neal for CU was senior guard Steven Ashworth with 17 points, four boards and seven assists. 

Following six straight points from Neal to begin the contest, sophomore sharpshooter Isaac Traudt ignited the Jays' offense and nailed three triples in a row to give Creighton a 17-14 edge with 11:01 left in the half.
 
Down 22-21, Creighton needed another offensive spark and turned to sophomore Jasen Green for his second trifecta of the season followed by a one-handed dunk and pair of free-throws by Neal to create a 30-22 advantage for the Bluejays with 4:46 left in the opening stanza. CU tightened up on the defensive end of the floor and held the Rebels to three points in the final four minutes of the half to head into the locker room with a 39-27 lead. 
 
Creighton's second half surge followed a different narrative compared to the first frame.  The Bluejays were clicking on both ends of the floor as Neal swiped the ball away from a UNLV guard for a breakaway dunk to get the crowd on their feet followed by a trey from Ashworth to force UNLV into a timeout with 18:01 left in the game and the Jays leading, 46-27. 
 
CU continued to dominate offensively and push the Rebels to their breaking point, capturing a 58-36 lead after freshman Jackson McAndrew knocked down a fadeaway jumper with 14:01 left in the game.  A barrage of three-pointers and contested layups by UNLV sparked their offense, but All-American center Ryan Kalkbrenner responded to the push by notching four consecutive points of his own to hold on to a 62-43 edge at the second media break (11:30).
 
Following the timeout, UNLV pushed for one last attempt at a comeback with several steals and quick buckets, but were unable to cut into Creighton's lead due to the impressive offensive play to begin the second half as the Bluejays grabbed their sixth home win of the season.
 
In addition to the 19 points from Neal and 17 from Ashworth, Traudt knocked down 5-of-7 triples to collect a season-best 15 points, while also snagging five rebounds.  Green chipped in a career-high 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting, while Kalkbrenner also scored a dozen points for the Bluejays.  Creighton shot 63.3 percent from the field (31-49) and knocked down 10-of-20 three-point shots as well as 11-of-12 free throws.  CU grabbed 34 rebounds and dished 20 assists, while also outscoring the Rebels 38-34 in the paint and 33-29 off the bench. CU's 33 bench points were a season-high.

Senior Jailen Bedford led UNLV with 20 points and added three rebounds, while Dedan Thomas Jr. notched 18 points and dished two assists.  UNLV shot 42.2 percent from the field, 7-of-21 from three-point range and 4-of-7 at the charity-stripe.  The Rebels also collected 21 rebounds and dished seven assists as a team.

The Bluejays return to the hardwood on Saturday, December 14 for their first road contest of the season at No, 10 Alabama.  The game is slotted for a 7:30 p.m. Central start and will be televised on SEC Network.