Providence Friars vs Creighton Bluejays Match Player Stats On Dec 31, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 31, 2017

OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton bounced back from Thursday's hard-luck loss at Seton Hall with an 83-64 Big East Conference basketball victory Sunday over Providence.

Marcus Foster led five Creighton players in double figures with 18 points. Toby Hegner finished with 15 points and Martin Krampelj had 13 points and a team-leading eight rebounds. The 12 points by Davion Mintz and 11 for Khyri Thomas meant the Bluejays starting five finished with 69 of Creighton's 83 points.

Providence center Nate Watson led all players with 20 points, and Friars forward Rodney Bullock had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with 15 points.

The No. 25-ranked Bluejays opened Big East play with a 90-84 road setback to the Pirates after leading the game by 13 points early in the second half. Meanwhile the Friars got off to a roaring start in conference play with a 22-point road victory over St. John's.

Creighton (11-3, 1-1 Big East) broke open a tight game with a 9-0 run in the middle of the first half that turned a two-point lead to a 25-14 advantage. Providence (10-5, 1-1) went 6:18 between baskets and was 5 of 22 (.228) from the field for the first 13-plus minutes of the game.

After missing 11 straight shots, the closest the Friars could get in the final six minutes before halftime was six points (27-21). The one consistent offensive threat Providence had was Watson, who led all players with 13 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Creighton went to the intermission with a 39-29 lead. The Bluejays were 15 of 31 (48.4 percent) from the field, and Thomas led the Jays with nine points.

The Bluejays scored three times in the first 1:04 of the second half to take a 45-29 lead. Providence couldn't get closer than 13 points the rest of the way as the Bluejays continued to push the offensive pace.

Creighton's biggest lead was 23 points when a 3-pointer by Foster put the Bluejays ahead 80-57 with 3:54 remaining in the game.

NOTES: The victory improved Creighton's record in Sunday home games at CenturyLink Center to 32-1. The last time Creighton suffered a Sunday home loss was Jan. 9, 2005, when the Bluejays were still members of the Missouri Valley Conference, to Southern Illinois. Creighton has won 36 of 37 Sunday home games since Feb. 4, 2002. ... In November, the Friars set a school record by making 9 of 10 3-point attempts. In Sunday's loss the Friars made just 3 of 23 (13 percent) from behind the arc ... The Bluejays have now started Big East Conference play 1-1 for the third straight season. A loss Sunday would have put Creighton at 0-2 in the Big East for the first time since 2014-15, the Jays second season in the conference.