OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton overcame a rare slow start Saturday with a strong second half to pull away for an 82-52 victory over Loyola (Md.).

Freshman center Justin Patton finished with a game-high 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting for No. 12 Creighton (6-0). Marcus Foster added 16 while Khyri Thomas and Martin Krampelj both finished with 10 points apiece.

Jarred Jones and Andre Walker led Loyola (2-4) with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Bluejays shot just 36.7 percent (11 of 30) in the first half. The Greyhounds couldn't take advantage of Creighton's shooting drought as they were just 9 of 27 themselves as the Bluejays took a 30-25 halftime lead.

"This is the first time in six games that I didn't think our starters were as hooked up mentally as they need to be to start a game," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "In terms of effort, enthusiasm, communication, it was lacking compared to the other five. So offensively I thought we were a little stagnant."

It didn't take long for things to get a whole lot better for Creighton after the intermission before a crowd of 16,907 at CenturyLink Center.

Jumpers by Cole Huff and Patton, along with a Thomas layup gave Creighton a 36-25 lead 67 seconds into the second half.

By the 12-minute timeout, the Bluejays were up 55-38 and visions of a Loyola upset were dashed. It took just four more minutes to get that lead to 24 points (63-39) as Creighton made 17 of its first 22 shots in the second half.

Creighton finished 23 of 31 (74.2 percent) in the second half as the Bluejays outscored Loyola 52-27 in the final 20 minutes.

"The second half we just bought more energy and effort," Foster said. "We just really ran and got the ball down in transition. That really helped us out."

The first half was one of those stretches that McDermott warned his team eventually would come. Through the first five games, the Bluejays were second nationally in 3-point shooting at 50.8 percent.

By the time halftime arrived, the Bluejays were just 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) from beyond the arc and were fortunate to be up 30-25.

"I told the team we only made eight 3-point shots against Wisconsin," McDermott said. "We don't have to shoot three's to be successful. I thought we became a little deflated the first half when we missed some open 3s."

The pesky Greyhounds led 20-18 after Walker made a pair of free throws with 5:08 remaining before the intermission. That's when Foster came to the rescue.

A layup, a jumper from the top of the key, a 3-point basket from the right side and a pair of free throws by Foster accounted for nine consecutive Creighton points.

Those free throws gave Creighton its biggest lead of the game at 27-22. Thomas then made a 3-pointer from the right baseline to put the Bluejays ahead 30-22.

Jones then made a free throw and layup to get the Greyhounds back within five at halftime.

Keeping the Greyhounds to just 25 points was the good news of the first half for McDermott.

"Defensively we did a lot of good things and that kept us in the game until our offense got going a little bit," McDermott said. "We did what we had to do. We didn't react very well to them taking 25 to 30 seconds every shot clock and really making us grind it."

While Loyola slowed the pace at different junctures and made Creighton play a more deliberate game, Greyhounds coach G.G. Smith said his team made too many turnovers to take advantage of its half-court chances.

"It's pretty hard to do when you turn the ball over," Smith said. "We didn't make enough shots. (Against) a team like Creighton you've got to get to the free-throw line or you're not going to get too many transition buckets."

NOTES: Creighton's streak of shooting at least 50 percent in every game of the young season stayed intact thanks to a strong second half. The Bluejays countered a chilly first half from the field by making 23-of-31 to finish 55.7 percent. ... A 6-0 start bodes well for Creighton's postseason hopes. The past 10 times the Jays started this fast they made the playoffs. The last time that didn't happen was the 1946-47 campaign. ... Greyhounds coach G.G. Smith is the oldest son of current Memphis coach Tubby Smith and played for his father in two of his four seasons at Georgia. ... The Bluejays have won 56 of 57 regular-season games in November since 1990.