NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Baylor Scheierman had 19 points and nine rebounds, Ryan Nembhard added 15 on 6-of-7 shooting and dished out four assists, and No. 23 Creighton fended off a feisty Seton Hall 75-62 on Wednesday night.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 13 points and Arthur Kaluma had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Bluejays (16-8, 10-3 Big East).
Seton Hall (15-10, 8-6) opened up the second half with an Al-Amir Dawes 3-pointer to take the lead before Kalkbrenner quickly tied things up at 42. Tyrese Samuel drilled a 3-pointer in the corner to give Seton Hall a 49-43 lead – its largest of the game – with 16:49 left.
Creighton would quickly fight back and the teams traded the lead down the stretch until the Bluejays went on an 8-0 run to take a 61-55 lead with 6:55 to play.
Dawes had 19 points, Samuel had 11 points and Kadary Richmond added 10 points for Seton Hall.
Richmond hit a pair of free throws to give Seton Hall its first lead of the game at 16-15 with 13:05 left in the first half. Creighton went on a 7-0 run, taking a 36-29 lead with 3:35 left in the first half. Richmond tied it at 36 just over a minute later. Creighton took a 40-39 lead into the break.
The game featured 10 lead changes overall.
BIG PICTURE
Creighton: Picked to win the Big East and earn its best preseason AP poll ranking in program history at No. 9, the Bluejays started off 6-0 before dropping the next six. After dropping the Big East opener, they have turned things around, are back in the rankings and have seven straight conference wins. After some early season struggles, Creighton is looking to keep pace with No. 13 Xavier, No. 10 Marquette, No. 20 Providence in the regular season conference title race.
Seton Hall: After starting 0-3 in the Big East, the Pirates won four straight — including a win over No. 15 UConn — and found themselves in the middle of the pack for the Big East standings. If the Pirates could finish in fifth place, where they are currently tied with UConn, they’d not only get a bye to the Big East Tournament quarterfinals but also be in a good position to make an NCAA Tournament in coach Shaheen Holloway’s first year. Another signature win would solidify that.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
After getting back into the polls this week, Creighton has a chance to ascend with a big showdown against No. 21 UConn next. A win could vault the Bluejays back into the Top 20 heading into the final month of the regular season.
UP NEXT
Creighton: Hosts No. 21 UConn on Saturday.
Seton Hall: Plays at Villanova on Saturday night.
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