Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Creighton Bluejays Match Player Stats On Dec 09, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 9, 2017

Marcus Foster scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half Saturday as Creighton beat Nebraska 75-65 in front of an announced crowd of 17,901 at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb.

The 6-foot-3 senior transfer from Kansas State helped Creighton erase a five-point halftime deficit less than five minutes after intermission.

The Bluejays (7-2) ended up with a balanced scoring effort as they won their seventh consecutive game against their in-state rivals. Freshman Mitch Ballock scored 11 of his 13 points in the pivotal second half, with Ronnie Harrell (12), Khyri Thomas (11) and Martin Krampelj (10) also finishing in double figures.

Nebraska's Isaac Copeland led all players with 20 points. He was joined in double figures by James Palmer Jr. (16) and Isaiah Roby (10).

The Huskers opened the second half by making just 2 of their first 11 shots. A pair of baskets by Ballock before a dunk by Krampelj gave Creighton a lead it wouldn't relinquish at 47-45.

Creighton finished 29 of 58 (50 percent) from the field while the Huskers were 27 of 71 (38 percent), including making just 13 of 35 shots in the final 20 minutes.

After Creighton jumped to a 4-0 lead, the Huskers responded with 3-pointers by Evan Taylor and Palmer for a 6-4 lead. Bluejays senior Toby Hegner responded with a 3-pointer from the left side to put Creighton back up 7-6.

That was the last time the Jays would lead in the first half. The game was tied twice -- at 17 and 19 -- before Nebraska went on a 12-5 run to grab its biggest lead of the half at 29-22 before heading into halftime up 33-28.