Alexander scores 21 to push No. 8 Creighton past North Dakota State

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Trey Alexander scored 21 points and Baylor Scheierman added 17 to lead eighth-ranked Creighton in an 89-60 victory over North Dakota State on Saturday.

Ryan Kalkbrenner, slow to get going offensively, scored 11 of his 13 points during a 16-0 run to open the second half that put away the Bluejays' opponent from the Summit League.

Creighton (2-0) shot 60% from the field, made 12 of 28 3-pointers and committed just four fouls while running its record to 12-0 in the series with the Bison (2-1).

North Dakota State got 15 points from Damari Wheeler-Thomas.

Kalkbrenner had limited touches in the Bluejays' opener against Florida A&M, which clogged the middle and double-teamed him regularly. NDSU's Andrew Morgan and Joshua Streit took turns guarding the All-Big East center and denied him the ball in the first half.

But the 7-foot-1 senior was much more assertive coming out of halftime. Kalkbrenner scored off an entry pass, blocked Lance Waddles' shot on the other end and then rattled in a 3-pointer from the top of the key. He followed with a couple more inside buckets, and the Jays were up 57-31 four minutes into the half.

Scheierman, in his second year at Creighton after transferring from South Dakota State, glanced over at the bench of his former Summit League rivals a couple times after he made shots. He hit three 3-pointers, blowing a kiss and pumping his fist when his last one forced NDSU to call a timeout.

Alexander added seven rebounds, four assists and five steals.

BIG PICTURE

North Dakota State: The Bison came to Omaha off an overtime win over Western Michigan and an out of Mount Marty. They hung close with the Bluejays for most of the first half, but they couldn't keep up after that.

Creighton: The Bluejays have won 80 of 82 November home games since 1990, and Greg McDermott improved to 16-0 against the Summit League as Creighton's coach.

UP NEXT

North Dakota State: hosts UC Davis on Tuesday.

Creighton: Hosts Iowa in the Gavitt Tipoff Games on Tuesday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball