#23 Men's Hoops Handles Rams in Final Exhibition

OMAHA, Neb. -- The No. 23 Creighton men's basketball team finished off exhibition play with a 76-64 victory over Colorado State on Saturday night at CHI Health Center Omaha. Eleven of the 13 men to appear scored for Creighton, led by 15 from Nik Graves and 14 by Jasen Green.

Creighton fell behind by as much as five points (21-16) in the first 13 minutes but used a 15-5 run to take the lead for good. The run began with five points by Green before a three-pointer from Josh DIx, a Blake Harper free throw and three-pointers by Ty Davis and Isaac Traudt. Davis banked in a shot from just inside half-court to help CU to a 37-33 lead at the break.

CU stretched its lead to double-figures for the first time with 9:56 left on a Hudson Greer three-ball to make it 61-51 and the lead would reach as much as 68-55 with 6:07 left after a trey from Graves. The margin remained six or more the rest of the night.

Graves made three three-pointers and scored 15 while Green made his first six shots to score 14 points. Jackson McAndrew topped the Bluejays with eight rebounds and Harper stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds and a team-leading three assists. CU shot 49.1 percent from the field, made 10-of-27 three-pointers and sank 14-of-18 free throws. The Jays won the rebound battle 38-31 and owned advantages in fast break points (14-4) and bench points (32-23).

Colorado State's Brandon Rechsteiner had 14 points, Kyle Jorgensen scored 12 and Josh Pascarelli finished with 10 points. Rashaan Mbemba, CSU's leading returner, had six points in 12 minutes before fouling out. The Rams shot 38.7 percent from the field and 18.5 percent from the three-point line, finishing with 13 assists and just five turnovers.

Creighton opens the regular-season on Nov. 5 vs. South Dakota.

NOTES: Colorado State went 26-10 last season, won the Mountain West Conference Tournament and reached the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament ... Preseason All-BIG EAST picks Owen Freeman and Jackson McAndrew, who missed CU's exhibition win over Iowa State due to injury, combined for 10 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes of action ... Creighton has won 26 straight winter exhibition games ... Greg McDermott is 34-0 in winter exhibition games as a Division I head coach, including a 17-0 mark at Creighton. All but two of those triumphs have come by double-figures.

Players Mentioned

Ty Davis

Owen Freeman

Nik Graves

Jasen Green

Hudson Greer

Blake Harper

Jackson McAndrew

Isaac Traudt