Ty-Shon Alexander hit two 3-pointers in a late run and Creighton held East Tennessee State to one field goal in nearly a six-minute stretch late in the game Sunday afternoon, as the Bluejays rallied for a 75-69 nonconference win in Omaha, Neb.
Alexander finished with 20 points and Damien Jefferson added 14 for Creighton (2-0), which trailed 63-51 after a 3-point basket by East Tennessee State's Patrick Good with 7:19 to play.
But then the Bluejays used 3-point baskets and a stingy defense to dominate the rest of the game.
Alexander had his two threes, Marcus Zegarowski and Mitchell Ballock hit one apiece, and Jefferson contributed a pair of baskets in an 18-2 burst that gave Creighton a 69-65 lead with 2:22 to go.
After Trey Boyd III countered with a jumper for East Tennessee State (1-2) with 1:23 remaining that cut the deficit in half, Alexander scored again, this time from the interior, to make it a four-point game again at 71-67 with 1:08 to go.
The Buccaneers scored only two more points the rest of the way, never catching up again.
Boyd's basket with 1:23 left ended a stretch in which East Tennessee State scored two points in nearly six minutes, missing 10 of 11 shots and mixing in three turnovers as their 12-point lead became a four-point deficit.
Ballock contributed 10 points for Creighton, which opened its season with a 78-67 win over Western Illinois on Tuesday.
Boyd had 20 points, Good 18 and Jeromy Rodriguez 14 to go with a game-high 14 rebounds for East Tennessee State.
--Field Level Media
East Tennessee St. | Creighton | |
Tray Boyd III 20 | Scoring | Ty-Shon Alexander 20 |
Isaiah Tisdale 5 | Assists | Damien Jefferson 3 |
Jeromy Rodriguez 15 | Rebounds | Mitch Ballock 3 |
Patrick Good 3 | Free Throws Made | Damien Jefferson 6 |
Mladen Armus 2 | Steals | Martin Krampelj 2 |
Tray Boyd III 1 | Blocks | Damien Jefferson 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
East Tennessee St. | 69 | 43.3 | 8-26 | 3-3 | 13 | 33 | 2 | 9 | 19 |
Creighton | 75 | 54.2 | 9-15 | 14-16 | 12 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 16 |