OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Kellen Miliner scored 20 points and Nate Funk added 17 to lead Creighton to a 74-40 victory over Alcorn State on Monday night in the opening round of the Guardian's Classic.
The Bluejays led 39-11 at halftime after shooting 50 percent from the field, including 4-of-4 on 3-pointers. They shot 49 percent (25-of-51) for the game.
There would be no rally in the second half by Alcorn State, which managed only 22 percent shooting (5-of-23) in the first half and 32 percent (15-53) for the game. It was 67-32 with 4:18 to play as Creighton substituted freely and got scoring from all but one of its 12 players.
No Alcorn State player reached double figures and Almaad Jackson led the team with nine points. His team trailed 14-7 before the Bluejays went on a 25-4 run in the final 12 minutes of the first half in the first-ever matchup of the two schools in basketball. Miliner had 16 points and Funk 13 in the first half.
The Bluejays play Iona in Tuesday night's regional final of the Guardian's Classic, which features 12 teams from 12 conferences across the country. Creighton or Iona will join the winners of regionals in Columbia, Mo., and Columbus, Ohio, plus a wild-card entry, in the tournament semifinals Nov. 23 in Kansas City.
Iona defeated Northern Arizona 77-67 in the first game of the Omaha regional. NAU plays Alcorn State in the consolation game Tuesday.
