Dynamic Senior Trio Powers Men’s Basketball to Victory Over Villanova

OMAHA, Neb. — Seniors Ryan Kalkbrenner, Jamiya Neal and Steven Ashworth collectively scored 63 points, steering the Creighton men’s basketball squad to an 86-79 victory against visiting Villanova on Saturday, in front of 17,125 spectators at CHI Health Center Omaha.

With this result, both squads are at 8-5 in the season and 1-1 in BIG EAST competition.

 

Kalkbrenner contributed 23 points, Neal netted 20 and successfully hit a career-best six three-pointers, whereas Ashworth attained his first career double-double with 20 points accompanied by a career-high 11 assists.

Eric Dixon entered this matchup leading the nation with 25.7 points per contest, scoring a game-high 27 points for the Wildcats.

Creighton converted their initial six three-point attempts within the first eight minutes, establishing a 24-18 advantage and held a 40-38 lead at the halftime after hitting 9-of-13 trifectas in the first half.

Villanova narrowed the gap to one (42-41) with a three-pointer by Dixon, prior to Creighton launching a 14-5 run over the following five minutes, featuring two dunks by Kalkbrenner and three-pointers from Ashworth and Neal. The lead for Creighton stayed at nine or more until the closing two minutes when the Wildcats made a late charge. Nova brought the deficit within six points with 21.1 seconds remaining, thanks to a three-pointer by Jordan Longino, but did not commit a foul against Creighton until just 3.3 seconds remained, allowing Jasen Green to seal the victory for the home team with a free throw.

Creighton enjoyed a shooting percentage of 55.4% from the field and 56.0% from beyond the arc, both marking season-highs, scoring 86 points against a Villanova defense that had previously allowed only 66.4 points per game.

With 31 successful shots out of 56 attempts and a seasonal peak of 14 three-pointers made out of 25 attempts, the Bluejays also commanded the rebounding stats at 30-28. The team recorded 22 assists against merely seven turnovers and outpaced the Wildcats in fast-break points 10-2.

Villanova managed to hit 32 out of 64 field goal attempts and converted 8-of-20 three-point shots, concluding the game with eight assists on 32 baskets. Their lone turnover was the lowest recorded by any team in a BIG EAST game since Louisville recorded one in a 73-65 defeat to Georgetown on February 7, 2007.

NOTES: Steven Ashworth has successfully hit multiple three-pointers in 15 consecutive games and has at least one three-pointer in the last 31 games … Ryan Kalkbrenner blocked a shot for the 26th consecutive game … Jamiya Neal’s six three-pointers were a career-high and tied for the most by a Bluejay this season … Neal also crossed the 700 career points milestone … Steven Ashworth’s 11 assists exceeded his previous career mark by two … Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013, Creighton’s 10 victories over Villanova are tied with Marquette for the highest total against the Wildcats … The Bluejays now own a 21-2 record since 2002 in games following a loss by a margin of 20 points or greater … Creighton stands at 6-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha against Villanova, including a 4-1 record over the past five seasons … Eric Dixon has made 25-of-50 career three-pointers against Creighton, which is 14 more than against any other opponent … Dixon’s streak of six consecutive games scoring 20 points or more is the most by any BIG EAST player against another league competitor since former Marquette All-American Markus Howard did so in seven consecutive matches versus Villanova and six in a row against Seton Hall … … Since the 2010-11 season commenced, Creighton’s 4,451 three-pointers rank as the second most nationally, with Villanova right behind in third place with 4,380 … Steven Ashworth made all five of his free-throw shots and now has 27 consecutive successful free throws, tying for the ninth-longest streak in Bluejay history … Fedor Zugic made his debut for Creighton, grabbing two rebounds and incurring one foul in 2:41 minutes of play … Creighton is now 7-0 historically when scoring 79 points or more against Villanova, in contrast to a 3-19 record when scoring 78 or fewer … The Bluejays have secured victory in 15 consecutive BIG EAST contests when Ryan Kalkbrenner attempts 12 or more shots … This game marked the first occasion three players from Creighton scored 20 or more points in a single game since Steven Ashworth (26), Baylor Scheierman (26), Trey Alexander (22) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (20) achieved this feat against Butler on February 2, 2024 … Steven Ashworth posted Creighton’s first performance with at least 20 points and 10 assists since Maurice Watson Jr. accomplished 21 points and 10 assists against Seton Hall on December 28, 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgNM6gHsQyU