Bluejays cruise past Seton Hall

OMAHA, Neb. -- Four different Bluejays reached double figures as the Creighton men's basketball team opened the 2023 calendar year with an 83-61 victory over Seton Hall 83-61 on Tuesday.

The Bluejays moved to 9-6 on the season and 3-1 in Big East action with their third straight double-digit win, while Seton Hall fell to 8-8 overall and 1-4 in conference play.

Early in the game, the Bluejays struggled from the field, hitting just 2-of-11 (18.2%) attempts to open the game, before finding its rhythm with consecutive three-pointers from Arthur Kaluma, Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander to surge out to a 13-10 edge. Alexander's three-pointer kick started a 12-0 run for the Bluejays, pushing the lead to 22-10 with 9:23 left in the half. Creighton went on to hit 15-of-32 field goals in the first half, including 8-of-15 from long range, to take a 43-22 lead into halftime.

The Bluejays continued to sizzle as the second half opened. Creighton made its first seven shots from the field after the intermission, racing out to a lead as large as 65-33  with 9:59 remaining. The Pirates never got within 22 again.

Ryan Kalkbrenner led all scorers with 17 points, also collecting eight rebounds and matching his career-high with six blocks. Kaluma finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, while Alexander and Ryan Nembhard posted 15 and 14 points respectively. Creighton shot 50.9 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three-point range while also sinking 14-of-17 free throws (82.4 percent). Creighton won the rebound battle 36-34 and outscored The Hall 24-6 off turnovers.

Seton Hall got a season-high 16 points from Femi Odukale and 11 from Tray Jackson in the loss.

Creighton returns to the hardwood on Saturday in a road contest at No. 4 Connecticut .