Nothing Good Happened in Nebraska, PC Falls to Creighton

Nothing Good Happened in Nebraska, PC Falls to Creighton

Nothing Good Happened in Nebraska, PC Falls to Creighton

It was a long way to travel to get blown out. The modest two-game Big East winning streak is over.

The Providence College men's basketball team was defeated by the Creighton Bluejays (11-6, 4-2 Big East), 84-64, on Tuesday, at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb. 

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The Friars struggled to defend Ryan Kalkbrenner, who hit 3-pointers, slammed alley-oops, and hit pick-and-roll layups.  He and guard Steven Ashworth each scored 20 points for the Blue Jays.

The Friars fall to 9-9 overall and 3-4 in the Big East. Ryan Mela, Corey Floyd Jr., and Wesley Cardet Jr.  led the offensive charge for the Friars with 10 points each.

Floyd Jr. and Oswin Erhunmwunse each had eight rebounds.

 

FIRST HALF: 

- Corey Floyd Jr. ( opened the scoring for the Friars with a turnaround jumper, followed by a three-pointer from Jayden Pierre to give the Friars to a 5-0 lead within the first minute of play.
- The Bluejays quickly countered with a six-point run of their own.
- Creighton capitalized on a two-minute scoring drought with an 8-0 run, nearly doubling their lead midway through the half. The Bluejays held a 23-12 advantage heading into the under-12 media timeout at 11:51.
- Led by Oswin Erhunmwunse, the Friars sparked a quick six-point surge in just 59 seconds that narrowed the deficit to five and forced a Creighton timeout. Providence trailed 29-24 with 7:32 remaining in the half.
- Jabri Abdur-Rahim capped the Friars' first-half scoring with three free-throws. Providence entered halftime trailing 43-34.
- Erhunmwunse led the Friars' first-half offensive effort with eight points with a perfect 4-4 shooting performance from the field.
- Providence shot 14-33 (42.4%) from the field, 1-7 (14.3%) from three, and 5-5 (100.0%) from the free-throw line. 
- Creighton shot 17-31 (54.8%) from the field, 6-13 (46.2%) from three and 3-9 (33.3%) from the free throw line.   

 

SECOND HALF: 

- The Friars opened the second half strong with an 8-3 run in the first two minutes that cut the deficit to four, 46-42.
- Wesley Cardet Jr. became the first Friar to reach double-digits, knocking down a three-pointer.
- Creighton regained momentum midway through the half, building a significant lead as the Friars trailed 66-55 at the 9:47 mark.
- At the final media timeout (3:10), the Friars were behind 75-59.
- The Bluejays maintained their dominance, closing the game with a 14-5 run over the final five minutes. The Friars ultimately fell 84-64 at the final buzzer.

 

NOTES:

- Providence finished 26-68 (38.2%) from the field, 4-20 (20.0%) from three, and 8-9 (88.9%) from the free-throw line. 
- Creighton finished 32-62 (51.6%) from the field, 14-32 (43.8%) from three and 6-12 (50.0%) from the free throw line.  
- Three players finished in double figures for the Friars: Mela (10), Cardet Jr. (10) and Floyd Jr. (10).  
- The Friars outrebounded the Bluejays by a margin of 40-35 including a 13-6 edge in offensive rebounds.
- PC outscored Creighton, 14-9 in second-chance points, 44-30 in points in the paint and 12-4 in fast-break points.
- Mela tied a career-high 10 points.
- Christ Essandoko contributed seven points and three rebounds off the bench in just over seven minutes of action.

- PC has now registered a 21-16 mark all-time versus Creighton, including a 6-9 record on the road.

 

NEXT: 

The Friars will continue road play this week when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to play the Villanova Wildcats (11-7, 4-3 Big East) on Friday, January 17 at the Wells Fargo Center. 

Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on FS1.