Creighton Men's Basketball Drops Road Opener at Kansas State
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas State scored 31 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half to hand Creighton men's basketball its first loss of the season, 89-82, on Tuesday night inside Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.
Both teams are now 2-1.
The teams were tied at 40-all at the half after a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes that featured seven lead changes and five ties. K-State guards Jaden Schutt and Brandon Rechsteiner scored the Wildcats' first 18 points of the game, but Creighton rode the scoring prowess of BJ Davis to hang around. The Bluejays took their largest lead of the first half at 24-18 on a short jumper by Oswin Erhunmwunse near the midpoint of the half. Davis and Wes Enis both had 13 points in the first half, while KSU was paced by 12 from Rechsteiner and 11 by Schutt.
The Bluejays outscored KSU 17-9 off turnovers and 11-2 in transition in the first half, but the Wildcats bench scored 13 first half points in a game that featured three players from each side picking up two first half fouls.
The Wildcats scored on their first four possessions of the second half, including three three-pointers, to quickly build a 51-45 advantage. Davis turned up the Bluejay defense with a pair of steals that led to fast break baskets, while also making three three-pointers in the first five minutes to knot the score at 55-all. But immediately after he checked out with his third personal foul, the Wildcats started a 16-2 run featuring a pair of triples by Rechsteiner to build a 71-57 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.
The Bluejays quickly countered as Hudson Greer hit a three-pointer off a feed from newcomer Brody Robinson, Robinson then scored five points in a row and Enis made two free throws as the Jays got within 75-67 with 6:37 to play. The run reached 12-0 on two Robinson free throws with 6:20 remaining to make it a one-score game (75-72) before Rechsteiner buried a trey.
Creighton closed within four at 81-77 on a three-pointer in the corner by Davis with 3:16 left before former Bluejay Brock Vice's three-point play with 2:24 left started a game-clinching 7-0 run for the hosts.
Davis led Creighton with a season-high 25 points while sinking a career-high six three-pointers. Enis added 18 points and Robinson added 10 in his debut. Creighton made 13-of-37 three-pointers on the evening.
Rechsteiner had 26 points for the Wildcats, Schutt added 14 points and Matt Gilhool had all 11 of his points after halftime. K-State made 14-of-30 three-pointers on the night.
Creighton is back in action on Sunday at 2 p.m. when it meets Iowa in Des Moines, Iowa.