OMAHA, Neb. — St. John's escaped Providence despite not making a shot.
That won't happen here.
For the third straight game against the Big East, the Red Storm paid the price for the first time after being turned away from beyond 3-point range. Creighton got off to a fast start, excelled in transition, played well on the glass and became the better team, winning 57-56 at CHI Health Center on New Year's Eve.
The 11-point lead in the first half was almost gone by halftime. After a break, Creighton took command for most of the trip. St. John's came within one point twice in the final minutes of the game, but RJ Lewis missed a jumper and his drive was not called at the buzzer.
It was a similar situation to last year when St. John's lost to Creighton at the buzzer.
It was a frustrating afternoon. St. John's had no answer for dominant 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner. He had 16 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks.
Meanwhile, the Johnnies shot 36 percent from the field and hit just 2 of 9 3-pointers. They have scored eight goals in three league games.
Zuby Ejiofor led the team with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Davon Smith added 10 points.
Johnny's couldn't have gotten off to a better start. Their defense was solid and their shots didn't fall, keeping them to 11 points. Creighton committed seven turnovers before the second media timeout.
However, as the first half progressed, the game started to turn in favor of the Blue Jays. This was mainly due to their performance on the offensive side.
They turned eight offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points in the first half alone, including two 3-pointers from Stephen Ashworth.
Creighton briefly took the lead after Ashworth's third triple of the first half closed out a 19-7 lead. St. John's took the lead going into the break after Scott made a three-point play.
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Both teams shot 34 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, and St. John's missed seven of its final eight shots and managed to end the first half with six points with 7 minutes, 54 seconds remaining.
The trio of Scott, Simeon Wilcher and Lewis combined for 4-for-19 from the field.
Kalkbrenner in the first half against St. John's. Images of Stephen Brancombe-Iman
Creighton took control midway through the second half with an explosive 12-2 run, turning a four-point deficit into a six-point lead at the time of the U-12 timeout.
St. John's offense was in quicksand and the Blue Jays started to get hot from deep.
The story of the second half came on St. John's down four. Wilcher missed a layup in transition and Ashworth hit a 3 at the other end to push the lead back to seven points with 9:08 left.
