National Basketball Association
Creighton 82, St. John's 68
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Where: CenturyLink Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
Officials:
# Brant Hampton, # James Breeding, # Clarence Armstrong
Attendance:
17006
By The Sports Xchange
Creighton sent its seniors out in style with an 82-68 rout of St. John's in Omaha, Neb., on Tuesday in the Bluejays final home game of the regular season.
Though Creighton fell out of the Top 25 for the first time all season Monday, the Bluejays (23-7, 10-7 Big East) made a strong case for reinstatement while solidifying its hold on third place in the conference standings.
Marcus Foster led a balanced Jays attack with 18 points while sophomore guard Khyri Thomas added 14 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and seven assists. Isaiah Zierden also finished in double figures with 12 points.
St. John's (13-17, 7-10) struggled from the field throughout the game played before a CenturyLink Center crowd of 17,006. The Red Storm shot 40.9 percent and made only six of their 25 3-point attempts.
Freshman guard Shamorie Ponds led St. John's with 16 points, while Malik Ellison and Federico Mussini each finished with nine points.
Creighton used a fast start and strong close to take a 43-30 halftime lead.
The Bluejays raced to an 11-0 lead, making five of their first 10 shots while the Red Storm missed their first six field goal attempts.
Four of those first five Creighton buckets were layups or tip-ins as the Bluejays had no trouble racing past St. John's defenders. Foster had a layup and 3-pointer from the left wing to spark the early burst.
Creighton bumped the lead to 16 early in the second half at 48-32 on a 3-pointer from the left wing by Zierden. The Bluejays kept that double-digit lead until Ellison hit a pair of 3-pointers -- the first from the left wing, the second from the top of the key -- that got St. John's back in the game at 58-53.
Creighton honored its three seniors -- Zach Hanson, Cole Huff and Zierden -- after the game.
Top Game Performances
St. John's |
|
Creighton |
Shamorie Ponds 16 |
Scoring |
Marcus Foster 18 |
Marcus LoVett 3 |
Assists |
Khyri Thomas 7 |
Bashir Ahmed 7 |
Rebounds |
Khyri Thomas 12 |
Shamorie Ponds 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Isaiah Zierden 6 |
Shamorie Ponds 6 |
Steals |
Cole Huff 3 |
Kassoum Yakwe 3 |
Blocks |
Justin Patton 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
St. John's
|
68 |
40.9 |
6-25 |
8-17 |
11 |
36 |
6 |
10 |
15 |
Creighton
|
82 |
42.6 |
6-19 |
18-22 |
16 |
47 |
1 |
6 |
17 |