Ryan Nembhard finished with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead Creighton to a 77-69 victory Tuesday over intra-state rival Nebraska at Lincoln, Neb.
Creighton (3-0) was also led by Ryan Hawkins, who made his last four shots and finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Alex O’Connell added 13 points and nine rebounds Ryan Kalkbrenner had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Nebraska (1-2) committed only seven turnovers but was outrebounded 50-36.
Kobe Webster had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting to lead the Cornhuskers, who have lost 10 of their last 11 games against Creighton.
C.J. Wilcher added 15 points and Alonzo Verge Jr. had 10 points and four assists.
Nebraska starting guard Trey McGowens, who averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds entering the game, left the court with an injury in the first half and returned to the bench during the second half with a protective boot on his right foot while utilizing crutches.
McGowens had two points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 10 minutes prior to the injury.
Nebraska rallied from trailing 29-10 with 10:27 left in the first half, outscoring the Bluejays 26-11 behind 11 points from Webster, including three 3-pointers.
Creighton led 40-36 at halftime and carried the lead through the second half, building the margin to 55-47 left with 10:49 on a 3-pointer by Hawkins.
After Verge made a layup to cut the lead to 58-55 with 8:37 left, Creighton answered with jumpers by O’Connell and Arthur Kaluma on consecutive possessions.
Two 3-pointers by Hawkins gave Creighton a 74-62 lead with 1:29 left.
Nebraska went without a made field goal for more than three minutes until Verge made a layup with 1:16 left.
Hawkins, a transfer from NCAA Division II power Northwest Missouri State, scored 13 of his points in the second half.
Creighton also blocked seven shots, led by three from Kalkbrenner.
–Field Level Media
