Sophomore guard Mitch Ballock recorded 19 points and seven rebounds to help Creighton post an 86-65 victory over visiting Green Bay on Friday night in nonconference play at Omaha, Neb.
Sophomore guard Ty-Shon Alexander added 17 points and six assists as the Bluejays (7-3) halted a two-game slide. Senior guard Kaleb Joseph scored 11 points for Creighton, which had a 24-9 edge in fast-break points.
Senior guard Sandy Cohen III had 20 points and 10 rebounds to pace Green Bay (6-5), which had won three of its previous four contests.
Ballock was 5 of 7 from 3-point range while Alexander and Joseph each made three triples as Creighton shot 14 of 33 as a team. The Bluejays shot 47.7 percent overall.
The Phoenix shot 35 percent from the field, including 5 of 22 from behind the arc.
Creighton led 48-36 less than three minutes into the second half after Ballock hit a jumper.
Green Bay whittled away at the deficit and pulled within 58-54 on a 3-pointer by junior guard Cody Schwartz with 11:47 remaining.
A short time later, Joseph scored eight straight points -- including two 3-pointers -- and Alexander converted a fast-break layup to cap a 10-0 run and give the Bluejays a 72-56 lead with seven minutes remaining.
After the Phoenix pulled within 12, Joseph knocked down another 3-pointer to make it 77-62 with 5:18 left.
Creighton's biggest lead was 21 as it closed out the victory.
Ballock connected on four first-half 3-pointers while scoring 14 points to help the Bluejays hold a 44-34 lead at the break.
Green Bay trailed by eight points just six minutes into the contest before using a 10-2 burst to knot the score at 19 on Cohen's layup with 12:07 left.
Later in the half, Ballock and guard Marcus Zegarowski drained back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 10-2 run and give Creighton a 37-27 advantage.
The Bluejays were just 10 of 22 from the free-throw line in the contest. Green Bay hit 18 of 26 attempts.
--Field Level Media
Green Bay | Creighton | |
Sandy Cohen III 20 | Scoring | Mitch Ballock 19 |
ShanQuan Hemphill 3 | Assists | Ty-Shon Alexander 6 |
Sandy Cohen III 10 | Rebounds | Damien Jefferson 9 |
Sandy Cohen III 7 | Free Throws Made | Ty-Shon Alexander 4 |
Sandy Cohen III 2 | Steals | Connor Cashaw 3 |
Kameron Hankerson 2 | Blocks | Mitch Ballock 1 |