OMAHA, Neb. — St. John’s escaped Providence despite its inability to make shots.
That wasn’t going to happen here.
For the third straight Big East game, the Red Storm were outscored from beyond the 3-point arc, paying for it for the first time. After a fast start, Creighton was the better team — better in transition, better on the glass — and prevailed, 57-56, at CHI Health Center on New Year’s Eve.
An 11-point first-half lead was all but gone at halftime. After the break, Creighton was in command most of the way. St. John’s got as close as one on two occasions in the final minute, but RJ Luis missed a jumper and then didn’t get a call on his drive at the buzzer.
It was similar to last year, when St. John’s lost at the buzzer to Creighton.
It was a frustrating afternoon. St. John’s had no answer for 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who was dominant. He finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.
The Johnnies, meanwhile, shot 36 percent from the field and hit only two of nine 3-point attempts. They have made eight in three league games.
Zuby Ejiofor led them with 16 points and eight rebounds and Deivon Smith added 10.
The Johnnies couldn’t have scripted a better start. They were air-tight on defense, shots were falling and they held an 11-point. Creighton committed seven turnovers by the second media timeout.
But the game began to flip for the Bluejays as the half went on, mostly because of their activity on the offensive glass.
They turned eight offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points in the first half, including a pair of Steven Ashworth 3-pointers.
Creighton briefly went ahead after Ashworth’s third triple of the half that capped a 19-7 run. St. John’s took the lead into the break after Scott completed a three-point play.
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Both teams shot 34 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes and St. John’s closed the half missing seven of its final eight shots and managing six points over the last 7:54 of the period.
The trio of Scott, Simeon Wilcher and Luis were a combined 4-for-19 from the field.
Kalkbrenner during the first half of St. John’s loss. Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
Creighton took command midway through the second half on the strength of a 12-2 burst, turning a four-point deficit into a six-point lead at the under-12 timeout.
St. John’s offense was in quicksand and the Bluejays began to get hot from deep.
The story of the second half came with St. John’s down four. Wilcher missed a layup in transition and Ashworth hit a 3 on the other end, pushing the lead back to seven with 9:08 to go.