Creighton Men Basketball Beats Providence, 84-64

OMAHA, Neb. -- Fueled by six second-half three-pointers from Isaac Traudt and Mason Miller, Creighton Men's Basketball defeated Providence 84-64 on Tuesday, January 14. The win pushed the Bluejays to 11-6 on the season and 4-2 in BIG EAST action, while Providence fell to 9-9 overall and 3-4 in conference action.

Each team delivered an early punch as Providence scored the first five points, then Creighton answered with the following six. Down 8-6 with 17:16 remaining, the Bluejays began to assert themselves with a 17-4 run to seize control with a 23-12 edge. Senior Ryan Kalkbrenner got CU rolling with a traditional three-point play, and the Missouri native went on to score eight points in the run.

The squads traded blows once more in the latter portion of the opening frame as Providence closed within five at 29-24, only to see the Bluejays push their advantage back out to 11 with two dunks from Kalkbrenner and another from Mason Miller to make it 35-24.

A final push by the Friars brought the game back within four with under two minutes remaining in the half, but a trey from Ashworth and another Kalkbrenner dunk returned the Bluejays to a comfortable edge. At the break Creighton led 43-34 after a three-ball from Jamiya Neal to beat the buzzer.

Providence crept back within four twice in the opening moments of the second half, but the sharp shooting of Traudt and Miller steadied the Bluejays at each turn. Traudt and Miller's six treys all came in the second half as the duo delivered 19 of Creighton's 41 second half points.

Ashworth and Kalkbrenner led the Bluejays with 20 points, with Kalkbrenner also grabbing 10 rebounds for his 21st career double-double. Kalkbrenner added his second straight game with a season-best six blocked shots. Creighton shot 51.6 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from deep.

Providence got 10 points from Wesley Cardet, Corey Flyod Jr. and Ryan Mela in the loss. The Friars won the board battle 40-35 but made just 4-of-20 three-pointers.

The Bluejays return to action on Saturday, at No. 14 Connecticut as the Bluejays and Huskies face off on FOX at 11 a.m. Central.