Creighton Bluejays vs Northwestern Wildcats Match Player Stats On Nov 15, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 15, 2017

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Khyri Thomas scored 24 points, including 15 in the second half, and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, helping Creighton upset No. 20 Northwestern 92-88 Monday in the Gavitt Tipoff Games on Wednesday night.

Northwestern's Vic Law led all scorers with 30 points, shooting 5 of 10 from 3-point range, and Bryant McIntosh added 24 in a back-and-forth shootout that came down to the wire.

Creighton (2-1) built a 15-point lead in the first half following a 13-3 run that spanned 3:16, while the Wildcats weathered a 1-of-9 shooting funk.

Scottie Lindsey entered the game as Northwestern's leading scorer at 19 points per game, but was limited to five points in 10 minutes in the first half after picking up his third foul with 6:14 remaining. He finished with 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting.

In Lindsey's absence, Northwestern slowed the tempo approaching halftime, which disrupted the Bluejays' shooting rhythm, as they made just 1 of 7 attempts to close the half. McIntosh made four of the Wildcats' final five field goals of the half, cutting Creighton's lead to 51-43 by halftime.

Northwestern (2-1) began the second half on fire, making seven of its first nine shot attempts, including an and-one 3-pointer by Law, which put the Wildcats on top 56-55, their first lead in nearly 20 minutes.

The Bluejays led for all but two minutes of the game, which saw 10 lead changes. Foul trouble caught up to Northwestern down the stretch.

Law hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night with 58 seconds remaining to make it a one-possession game, and he blocked Davion Mentz's shot attempt on the next play, tipping the ball to a teammate as he fell out of bounds on the baseline. Officials reviewed the play and ruled Law out of bounds. Martin Krampelj followed with a layup with 27 seconds to go for a 90-85 lead. Krampelj had 17 points and five rebounds.

Gavin Skelly answered with a 3-pointer for Northwestern to cut the deficit to two, but Thomas iced the game with a pair of clutch free throws. Skelly finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

Creighton, typically a perimeter-oriented team, controlled the inside, out-rebounding the Wildcats 38-32 and outscoring them 48-26 in the paint.

NOTES: Creighton G Marcus Foster averaged a team-high 18.2 points per game during the 2016-17 season, which ranked third in the Big East conference. ... This was the first meeting in six years between the schools. The series is tied 3-3. ... Creighton is 12-1 in its last 13 games against Big Ten opponents. ... Northwestern coach Chris Collins' first cousin, Robbie Williams, played basketball with Greg McDermott at Northern Iowa.