Ryan Hawkins had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lift host Creighton past No. 9 Villanova 79-59 in the Big East opener Friday in Omaha, Neb.
Ryan Nembhard added 14 points and Alex O’Connell contributed 12 for Creighton (9-3, 1-0 Big East). Trey Alexander scored 10 points while Ryan Kalkbrenner had eight points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots.
Collin Gillespie led the Wildcats (7-4, 0-1) with 16 points while Eric Dixon added a career-high 15 to go along with nine rebounds. Jermaine Samuels chipped in with 11 points.
Villanova, which has lost two in a row, shot just 4 of 23 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Creighton closed the game with a 23-5 surge while the Wildcats missed their final 12 field-goal attempts.
Justin Moore drove to the basket and scored for a 17-16 Villanova lead with 10:15 left in the first half.
KeyShawn Feazell responded with a jump hook as Creighton went back ahead 18-17. After a Villanova turnover, Feazell hit another jump hook for a 3-point lead.
Gillespie came back with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 20.
When Hawkins dropped in a trey with 4:05 to go, the Bluejays led 30-24. Nembhard soon extended the advantage to nine with another 3-pointer.
Creighton led 39-30 at halftime thanks in large part to Hawkins’ 10 points.
The Wildcats shot just 3 of 11 from 3-point territory.
After falling behind by 12 early in the second half, Villanova quickly closed within five.
Nembhard then made a deep trey for a 48-40 advantage.
Villanova cut the deficit to 53-46 with 12:29 remaining after Moore hit a driving layup.
On Creighton’s next possession, Arthur Kaluma threw down a dunk to move back ahead by nine.
The Wildcats tightened defensively and hit 4 of 5 shots to slice the deficit to 56-52.
After a Creighton turnover, Dixon grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to close within 56-54 with 8:43 left.
The Bluejays went on a 10-1 run to regain a 66-55 lead after Hawkins stole the ball and scored with 5:14 remaining.
Villanova went nearly 8 1/2 minutes without a field goal down the stretch.
–Field Level Media
