Men’s basketball outlasts St. John’s 57-56 in the final game of 2024

OMAHA, Neb. – The tandem of Steven Ashworth And Ryan Kalkbrenner Delivered 15 of the Bluejays’ final 19 points as Creighton cruised to a 57-56 win over St. John’s on Dec. 31. It was the second straight season that Creighton earned a one-point victory over the Red Storm in Omaha with a defensive substitution in the final seconds after winning in similar fashion, 66-65.

The win moved the Bluejays to 9-5 on the season and 2-1 in BIG EAST play, while St. John’s fell to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in conference.

In a defensive battle, the Red Storm built a 9-2 lead in the first four minutes and extended their lead to as many as 11 at 18-7 with 10:33 remaining. Trailing 22-13 with 7:54 remaining, the Bluejays offense began a slow climb that culminated in a 13-3 run to take the lead at 26-25 with 1:55 remaining.

Then Ashworth got things rolling with a trey Jackson McAndrew contributed the Bluejays’ next five goals and brought Creighton within one possession at 24:21 (5:16). One bucket out Jasen Green and a trifecta from Ashworth gave Creighton a 26-25 lead, but a traditional three-point play by the Red Storm sent Creighton into the locker room down 28-26 at halftime.

The St. John’s defense held Creighton in check in the opening minutes of the second half, when Creighton trailed 34-30 with 15:20 on the clock. Things changed for the Bluejays when Jamiya Neal connected from long range to ignite a 12-2 run. Isaac Traudt Another three-pointer followed, putting Creighton ahead 36:34 (13:48). After a Red Storm floater tied the game 36-36, Neal reclaimed the lead with a driving layup and Kalkbrenner put the exclamation point on back-to-back dunks to give the Bluejays a 42-36 lead at 11:08 Mark.

Creighton extended its lead to as many as eight points on a Traudt three with 6:27 left and again on Kalkbrenner’s third dunk with 4:31 left in the second half.

St. John’s got within one point with a 6-0 run in the final moments to increase the lead to 55-54 (1:31). As the game entered the final minute, Ashworth knocked down a pair from charity stripe, but the Red Storm pulled within one point when Deivon Smith nailed a layup with 36 seconds left.

Creighton’s 19th turnover of the game opened the door for the Red Storm in the final seconds, but the Bluejays’ defense held off St. John’s two shots from RJ Luis to secure the win.

Ashworth led the Bluejays’ offense, scoring 18 points with four triples and five rebounds, while Kalkbrenner, the preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Creighton won the rebounding battle 41-34 and outscored SJU by 21 points.

St. John’s got 16 points from Zuby Ejiofor and 10 from Deivon Smith in the loss. The Red Storm made just 2 of 9 three-point shots, both from big man Ejiofor, who was 3 of 15 from distance in the game. SJU had 11 steals, led by four from Smith.

The Bluejays travel to No. 1 on Friday, January 3rd in an away game. 8 Marquette Back in Action, airing on FS1 at 8 p.m.

NOTES: Ryan Kalkbrenner became the first player in league history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocked shots in regular season BIG EAST play… Ryan Kalkbrenner (1,994) passed Chad Gallagher (1,983) for fourth place on Creighton’s all-time scoring list… Jamiya Neal Had nine rebounds and now owns 401 in his career… Steven Ashworth made a three-pointer in 32 straight games and multiple three-pointers in 16 consecutive contests…Today’s win was Creighton’s 300th at CHI Health Center Omaha (in 363 games)…Creighton is now 11-1 at CHI Health Center Omaha vs. St. John’s…Creighton is 8-1 in its last nine games against St. John’s…Today was Greg McDermottis the 125th BIG EAST regular season win, breaking a tie with St. John’s coach Rick Pitino for eighth-most wins in league history… Greg McDermott is now 10-2 as head coach on New Year’s Eve, including a 6-2 record with Creighton… Steven Ashworth made both free throw attempts and has now made 29 in a row at the line, and leads the nation at 52 of 53 overall (.981) this year…Creighton has won 16 straight BIG EAST games as Ryan Kalkbrenner attempted 12 or more field goals…Today was Creighton’s 28th win under Greg McDermott after trailing by double digits and for the first time since March 17, 2022 against San Diego State…Creighton is now 33-37 all-time in 70 games at CHI Health Center Omaha when trailing by more than 10 points at any time . and 42-30 at half a deficit within the facility.