Ryan Kalkbrenner erupted for a career-high 49 points to go along with 11 rebounds, lifting No. 15 Creighton to a 99-86 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday in Omaha, Neb.Kalkbrenner, the Big East Conference preseason player of the year, made 20 of 22 shots from the floor and also sank both of his attempts from 3-point range. He fell just shy of the single-game school record set by Bob Portman, who scored 51 points against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Dec. 16, 1967.Kalkbrenner easily eclipsed his previous career high of 31 points, set during the Bluejays’ 72-63 win over North Carolina State in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.With 1,820 career points, Kalkbrenner moved past Kyle Korver (1,801) into sixth place all-time in school history.Steven Ashworth drained all 17 of his free-throw attempts to highlight his 25-point performance.Isaac Traudt made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points for Creighton (1-0), which recorded its 30th consecutive home-opening win on the strength of shooting 60.0 percent from the floor.The Bluejays played without Texas Tech transfer Pop Isaacs due to an undisclosed injury. He scored 24 points in Creighton’s 93-87 win over Purdue in a charity exhibition on Oct. 26.UT Rio Grande Valley’s Hasan Abdul Hakim recorded a career-high 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scores 49 to propel No. 15 Creighton past UT Rio Grande Valley
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