OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Jasen Green and Blake Harper scored 14 points apiece and No. 23 Creighton pulled away from Maryland Eastern Shore for an 84-45 victory after a clunky first half Friday night.
The Bluejays (2-1) shot miserably in the second half of a 27-point loss at No. 19 Gonzaga on Tuesday, and their struggles continued over stretches of the opening 20 minutes against the Hawks (1-4) of the Mid-East Athletic Conference.
Creighton went 7 for 8 while getting out to a 16-2 lead and 6 of 25 the rest of the half. Big man Owen Freeman, who took only two shots against Gonzaga, had a dunk and a layup on consecutive possessions early but then missed back-to-back layups and a couple other short shots. He finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Creighton made only two field goals over a nearly eight-minute span of the first half, allowing the Hawks to get within eight points.
The Bluejays came out of halftime much sharper. Green, who had 12 points in the second half, dunked and hit a couple of 3-pointers and Kerem Konan dunked twice as they extended their lead to 28 midway through the final period. Creighton shot 58% in the second half and 49% for the game.
Justin Monden scored 13 points to lead UMES. The Hawks were just 2 of 15 on 3s, committed 18 turnovers and were outrebounded 43-26.
UMES has lost all 32 of its games against Top 25 opponents by an average margin of 37 points.
UMES visits Longwood on Tuesday.
Creighton hosts North Dakota on Wednesday.
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