Ryan Kalkbrenner had 29 points and Baylor Scheierman added 24 along with 12 rebounds as No. 8 Creighton rolled to an 88-65 victory over Loyola Chicago on Wednesday in the Hall of Fame Classic at Kansas City, Mo.
Kalkbrenner and Scheierman combined to score 36 of the 45 first-half points for Creighton (5-0), which shot 55.2 percent overall and 14 of 27 from 3-point range for the game to win its first contest away from home this season. Scheierman went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, while the 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner, who finished two points shy of matching his career high, made four of his eight shots from distance.
The Bluejays, who held Loyola (2-3) to 39.3 percent shooting in the second half, will face Colorado State in Thursday’s championship game.
Des Watson had 15 points and Braden Norris scored 14 for the Ramblers, who are 0-2 against ranked teams in 2023-24.
Despite the big first half from Scheierman and Kalkbrenner, Loyola was highly competitive thanks to 11 points from Watson, and the 13 it scored off seven Creighton turnovers. The Ramblers, who shot 48.5 percent through the first 20 minutes, led 23-18 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the opening half.
However, Scheierman and Kalkbrenner then took over, combining to do all the scoring during the Bluejays’ 16-3 run, which was capped by a Scheierman 3.
Creighton, which went 16-for-30 from the field in the first half, led by as many as 10 before intermission, but Loyola got within five before Scheierman recorded the half’s final points on another trey for an eight-point advantage at the break.
Kalkbrenner scored four points and Steven Ashworth (10 points) hit a pair of threes and added a 2-point bucket as the Bluejays recorded 21 of the first 27 points of the second half to take complete control.
Creighton rather easily prevailed despite missing starting forward Mason Miller (7.3 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game) due to an illness. Meanwhile, Loyola’s second-leading scorer, Philip Alston (10.3 ppg), sat his second straight game with a calf issue.
Loyola faces Boston College in Thursday’s consolation game.
–Field Level Media