Ryan Kalkbrenner and Jamiya Neal took over in the second half as Creighton survived a visit to Indianapolis with an 80-76 win over reeling Butler in a Big East matchup on Saturday afternoon.
Kalkbrenner, a preseason All-American selection, collected 26 points, nine rebounds, six blocks and three steals for the Bluejays (10-6, 3-2 Big East). Neal scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, including six unanswered mid-way through the period.
Steven Ashworth did most of his damage in the first half and finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Blue Jays, who have won three of their last four games. Jackson McAndrew chipped in 12 points.
Patrick McCaffery led the Bulldogs (7-10, 0-6) with 21 points and seven rebounds, and Pierre Brooks II followed with 14 points and seven boards. Boden Kapke, who was averaging two points per game, scored 13 off the bench for Butler, which lost its ninth straight game.
Butler rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to get within three on McCaffery’s 3-pointer with 46 seconds left. Neal missed the first free throw of a one-and-one, but McCaffery missed a tying trey with 19 seconds left.
The Bluejays appeared to have breathing room earlier in the half. Less than two minutes after Neal’s burst, Kalkbrenner nailed a 3-pointer and Isaac Traudt hit a jumper to push the lead to 12.
Coming off a tie game at intermission, Kalkbrenner had nine points and four blocks in the first eight minutes of the second half, and Neal’s layup off a fast break put the Bluejays ahead 59-54.
Andre Screen’s three-point play trimmed Butler’s deficit to two, but Neal’s burst followed.
Ashworth played all 20 minutes in the first half and had 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Kalkbrenner added 12 points.
McCaffery (11 points) and Pierre Brooks II (10) combined to shoot 9 of 13 from the floor for Butler. The Bulldogs made just three of their first 11 shots but hit a blistering 72.7 percent over the remainder of the half.
Creighton shot 50.8 percent from the floor overall, while Butler finished at 47.6 percent.
–Field Level Media
