National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Creighton 65, North Carolina Central 45
When: 4:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 23, 2014
Where: CenturyLink Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
Officials: # Evan Burroughs, # Steve McJunkins, # Brian O'Connell
Attendance: 17290


Creighton 65, North Carolina Central 45:
Isaiah Zierden hit four second-half 3-pointers and had a career-high 20 points as the host Bluejays pulled away late in an on-campus game of the Emerald Coast Classic.

Zierden missed his first three 3-pointers before hitting four straight and added 8-of-9 free throws. Devin Brooks added 12 points and four rebounds for Creighton (4-0) and Austin Chatman had nine points and a team-high six rebounds.

Anthony McDonald led North Carolina Central (1-2) with 17 points, hitting 5-of-11 3-pointers. Karamo Jawara added 11 points and seven rebounds while Dante Holmes had nine points and seven boards before fouling out.

The Bluejays opened the game 4-of-21 from the floor and trailed the Eagles 20-15 after McDonald's 3-pointer with just over six minutes left before a rally. Creighton closed the half on a 12-2 run, getting a layup and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Brooks for a 27-22 lead.

Will Artino scored eight of Creighton's first 10 points in the second half for its first double-digit lead and a pair of Zierden 3-pointers pushed the lead to 49-36 with 7:39 left. Zierden and Rick Kreklow combined for three straight 3-pointers to push the lead to 22 points with less than two minutes left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Creighton hosts Eastern Illinois on Tuesday before heading to Northwest Florida State College for the bracket portion of the Emerald Coast Classic, where they face Ole Miss on Friday and either Middle Tennessee or Cincinnati on Saturday. ... Creighton extended its home win streak to 22 games. ... Creighton has started 4-0 for the fourth straight year, the second time that's happened in school history.

Top Game Performances
 
North Carolina Central   Creighton
Anthony McDonald 17 Scoring Isaiah Zierden 20
Dante Holmes 4 Assists Devin Brooks 3
Dante Holmes 7 Rebounds Austin Chatman 6
N/A Free Throws Made Isaiah Zierden 8
Karamo Jawara 2 Steals Ricky Kreklow 4
Jordan Parks 2 Blocks Will Artino 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
North Carolina Central 45 36.5 7-18 0-3 9 31 5 5 17
Creighton 65 35.3 7-24 22-25 10 32 3 8 9