Creighton improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 96-70 win over the UMKC Kangaroos at CenturyLink Center Omaha. Senior forward Doug McDermott went off for 37 points and seven rebounds and set the tone for Creighton from the opening tip.
The Bluejays looked to get McDermott the ball early and often, and he responded with Creighton’s first nine points and 12 of their first 16 while hitting his first four shots.
The Kangaroos hung tight, however, and just like they did against Alcorn State, the Jays fell behind midway through the first half. And just like they did against Alcorn State, Creighton responded with a big run to take control of the game. Down 23-21, five quick points by McDermott sparked a 20-4 run by the Bluejays to pull ahead 41-27.
McDermott continued to put on a show, hitting a corner 3-pointer while getting knocked out of bounds. He hit the free throw to complete the rare four-point play.
“Great find in the corner there,” McDermott said. “I shot the shot and he pushed me and I hit my head on one of the benches. So that kind of hurt.”
Chatman closed out the first half with a bank 3-pointer at the buzzer over two defenders to give Creighton a 48-31 lead heading into the break.
At halftime, a presentation was held in honor of veteran’s day. Specialist Kyle Nelson, a veteran wounded during his service, was given a fully renovated, mortgage-free house to live in with his family. Visit the Creightonian Facebook page for a video of the presentation.
McDermott picked up where he left off after the intermission, scoring five points in the first 40 seconds. McDermott pushed his point total to 37 as the Jays cruised through the rest of the game for a 26 point win.
Junior point guard Austin Chatman had a near triple-double with 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and he has yet to turn the ball over through two games.
“I’ve just got to give a lot of credit to my teammates,” Chatman said. “First game, we didn’t hit as many shots as we were capable of. I did a great job, I guess, of finding our shooters and they just knocked down open shots … It was key that a lot of guards help on the boards and things like that so I had to crash and get to the ball.”
Freshman guard Isaiah Zierden rounded out the double-figure scorers for Creighton with 10 points, including a couple of impressive drives to the basket when his outside jumper wasn’t falling (1-4 from 3-point range).
“I thought he looked to attack some,” head coach Greg McDermott said. “When you’re not making shots … If you’re not feeling comfortable and they’re closing out on you hard put your head down and try to get to the basket. He did that a couple times, made a couple nice plays, and Isaiah’s just not making many mistakes. He’s playing smart basketball, he’s growing more and more comfortable every time he steps on the floor, and I think he’ll give us important minutes throughout the season.”
Creighton will hit the road for the first time on Saturday as they travel east to take on the St. Joseph’s University Hawks. Tip-off from Philadelphia is set for 6 p.m.