Creighton Bluejays vs St. John's Red Storm Match Player Stats On Dec 17, 2020

Marcus Zegarowski scored 20 points, Damien Jefferson was two assists shy of a triple-double and No. 9 Creighton drained 13 3-pointers as the visiting Bluejays pulled away in the second half for a 94-76 win over St. John's on Thursday.

Reserve Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 15 points and Denzel Mahoney added 14 and three 3-pointers for Creighton (5-2, 1-1 Big East), which made 13 of 23 attempts from the behind arc after hitting on 28 of 62 (45.2 percent) attempts in its previous two games.

Julian Champagnie scored 17 points, Posh Alexander added 13 and Rasheem Dunn added 10 points and five assists for St. John's (5-4, 0-3), which was only able to force 14 turnovers -- five fewer than its season average.

St. John's center Isaih Moore, who had career highs of 26 points and 14 rebounds in a loss to Georgetown in his previous game, had seven points and three rebounds and was dominated by Creighton big men Christian Bishop and Kalkbrenner, who combined for 26 points and 15 rebounds.

The Bluejays led throughout, but the Red Storm pulled to within 52-50 with 14:25 left. Creighton then went on a 22-4 run, sparked by four inside hoops by the 7-foot Kalkbrenner and four points, three rebounds and three assists from Jefferson, who finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Zegarowski, who missed all seven of his attempts from beyond the arc in a loss to Marquette in his previous game, drained four from long range in the second half and finished 6 of 7 from 3-point range.

Both teams played at a quick place, but the Red Storm's pressure defense wasn't able to force turnovers early in the game. Bishop dominated inside early with three hoops in the lane and three offensive rebounds in the opening three minutes.

The Bluejays hit six of their first eight 3-point attempts to jump out to a 28-12 lead nine minutes in. Mitch Ballock and Mahoney each made two 3-pointers during the surge.

The pace stayed fast, but Creighton turned cold, which allowed St. John's to get back into the game.

Champagnie scored the next five points to cut the lead to 11 and the second of two 3-pointers during the surge by Dunn brought St. John's within 33-30 with 3:22 left. Zegarowski hit a 3-pointer and a runner in the lane to help restore a 41-34 edge at the half.

Mahoney and Zegarowski had eight points and two 3-pointers apiece in the half, as the Bluejays drained 7 of 15 attempts from the 3-point line.

Alexander had seven points at the break, but leading scorer Champagnie was held to five on 1-of 4 shooting but corralled four rebounds.

--Field Level Media