Sophomore guard Ty-Shon Alexander scored a team-high 18 points as the Creighton Bluejays defeated the Boise State Broncos 94-82 on Monday night during the Cayman Islands Classic at George Town.
Creighton also got 16 points from sophomore wing Damien Jefferson, 14 points from freshman guard Marcus Zegarowski and 10 points from sophomore center Jacob Epperson.
The Bluejays shot a blistering 57.9 percent from the floor and made 12-of-22 3-pointers (54.4 percent).
Boise State shot 51.6 percent from the floor but made just 4-of-15 on 3-pointers (26.7 percent).
It was the first road game this season for Creighton (3-1), which returns eight players, including two starters, from a team that went 21-12 last season and mad the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the past seven years.
Boise State (1-2) was led by RJ Williams, who scored 17 of his game-high 27 points in the first half. Williams also had a game-high nine rebounds.
Zach Haney and Justinian Jessup each added 15 points for Boise State.
The Broncos, who have won at least 20 games in each of the past six years, won the only previous meeting between these teams, beating Creighton in 2012.
Creighton led 46-41 at halftime on Monday, but things did not start off well for the Bluejays.
Williams, a 6-foot-7 junior guard who transferred in this year from East Los Angeles College, was unstoppable early. He had Boise State's first eight points on two dunks, a jump-shot and a layup.
Creighton, which trailed 6-0 after two minutes and was seven points down at the 12:34 mark, took its first lead of the game with 2:34 left in the half as Alexander hit a 3-pointer.
The Bluejays closed the first half on a 14-5 run.
Both teams shot the ball extremely well in the first half - 59.3 percent for Creighton and 56.3 percent for Boise State. Creighton made 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and Boise State converted on 3 of 9.
However, Creighton led by as many as 20 points in the second half, cruising to victory.
The Bluejays will oppose Georgia State as the tournament continues Tuesday, and Boise State will meet St. Bonaventure.
--Field Level Media
Boise St. | Creighton | |
RJ Williams 27 | Scoring | Ty-Shon Alexander 18 |
Pat Dembley 4 | Assists | Mitch Ballock 7 |
RJ Williams 9 | Rebounds | Damien Jefferson 6 |
RJ Williams 5 | Free Throws Made | Marcus Zegarowski 4 |
RJ Williams 3 | Steals | Mitch Ballock 2 |
Derrick Alston 2 | Blocks | Martin Krampelj 1 |