Creighton Men's Basketball Opens Huss Era With Win Over Kansas City

OMAHA, Neb. -- Wes Enis scored 25 points and Trevon Carter-Givens supplied the energy in a huge second half as Creighton Men's Basketball opened the Alan Huss era with a 76-61 win over visiting Kansas City on Monday night. Creighton flipped the momentum with a 17-0 run that saw the Bluejays force turnovers on seven straight possessions at one point while holding the Roos scoreless for 8:03.

Down 39-33 in the first half, Creighton outscored Kansas City 43-22 after the break to win its 32nd straight home-opener and 17th season-opener in a row.

A Kansas City native who played for Creighton from 1997-2001, Huss became the program's first alum to win since Tom Apke went 130-64 from 1974-81. He also improved Creighton head coaches to 14-3 in their debut on the Bluejay sideline. Huss spent seven years as a Creighton assistant (2017-23, 2025-26) before taking over for Greg McDermott, who watched the first half from courtside.

Three-pointers by Enis and Jackson McAndrew in the first three minutes helped Creighton to an early 8-2 lead, but the Bluejays would miss their final 10 three-point attempts of the first half and trailed 39-33 at intermission. It was the first time CU trailed at half of a season-opener since 2021. Jaylen Smith led Kansas City with 15 points and three assists in the opening frame to pace the visitors to 55.2 percent shooting in the first half.

CU trailed 44-38 after a three-point play by Carl Daugherty Jr. with 17:52 to play before embarking on a game-changing 17-0 run. During the Roos' 14 straight empty possessions, Creighton forced seven turnovers and eight missed shots, with three of the final five misses swatted away by Carter-Givens. When the dust cleared, Creighton was in front 55-44 and had settled down after an up-and-down first half. Enis had eight points and Austin Swartz added five during CU's breakaway.

Enis had 17 of his game-high 25 points after the break while also helping to hold Smith scoreless in the final 20 minutes. The Bluejays held Kansas City to 0-for-6 shooting from three-point land after the break while making seven of its own, which consisted of the difference.

Enis had 25 points and BJ Davis added 13 as CU's newcomers contributed 56 of CU's 76 points on the night. CU's 15 steals and 22 turnovers forced were both its most in a game since February of 2021. The Jays won the rebound battle 34-32 and shot 40.7 percent from the field (24-59), 32.1 percent from downtown (9-28) and 82.6 percent at the line (19-23).

Smith was the lone Kansas City player in double-figures with 15 points and five assists. The Roos shot 48.1 percent for the game, including 7-of-22 from deep (31.8 percent) and 4-of-7 at the foul line (57.1 percent)

Creighton is back in action on Thursday when it hosts Le Moyne at 7 p.m.  The Dolphins lost their season-opener 106-64 at Nebraska on Monday evening. Listen live on 97-7 The Zone.