OMAHA, Neb.—Creighton shot 62 percent from the floor while making six of 10 3-pointers in the second half to pull away from pesky Northern Colorado for an 85-66 win Saturday.
The Bluejays (7-2) led by only four at intermission before hitting nine of their first 13 shots after halftime to take control on the opening day of play in the Las Vegas Classic.
Booker Woodfox led Creighton with 16 points, but it was Cavel Witter’s 13 second-half points that helped the Jays pull away. The reserve guard had five points during a 13-3 surge that opened up a one-point game. He knocked down consecutive 3-pointers with less than four minutes to play to put the game out of reach.
Kaleb Korver canned four of Creighton’s 10 3-pointers, including two in a nine-second span late in the game, to finish with a career-high 14 points. It was the third straight time the Jays hit 10 or more threes in a game. They won all three contests, extending their winning streak to four overall.
Creighton had 13-point first-half lead following a 16-2 run fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers by Josh Dotzler and Korver. But the Bears rallied by outscoring the Jays 15-3 over a three-minute stretch to pull within one at 33-32 on a three by Neal Kingman.
Will Figures had 17 points for Northern Colorado, which was outscored 37-19 over the final 15:30, to lead all scorers. The Bears (2-5) outrebounded Creighton 38-25 overall and held the Jays to only two offensive rebounds, yet dropped their third straight game.
