Nembhard's 25 carry Creighton past Arkansas in Maui thriller
AP
Nov 22, 2022
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) Ryan Nembhard drove the lane for an authoritative dunk in the closing minutes and scored a career-high 25 points for No. 10 Creighton Bluejays, which survived a tense second half to beat No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks 90-87 on Tuesday and advance to the championship game of the Maui Invitational.
Trey Alexander made two free throws with 1.9 seconds left for Creighton, which will play for the title Wednesday against either No. 14 Arizona or No. 17 San Diego State.
The Bluejays (6-0) and Razorbacks (4-1) played an electrifying second half worthy of a March Madness matchup. Arkansas has reached the Elite Eight in consecutive seasons and Creighton got to the second round last year after advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2021.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 21 points, Baylor Scheierman 20 and Alexander 12 for the Bluejays, who had a 12-point lead late in the first half.
Anthony Black scored 26 points, Ricky Council IV 24 and Trevon Brazile 17 for the Razorbacks.
There were 10 lead changes and the game was tied 10 times in the second half.
Nembhard made two free throws after the Arkansas bench was whistled for a technical foul with 13:57 to go for a 53-53 tie. Creighton was in the double bonus for the final 13 minutes.
Nembhard, the shortest player on the floor at 6 feet, drove for a dunk and a 79-76 lead with 2:34 to go. Brazile answered with a 3-pointer the next time down the floor to tie it at 79.
Kalkbrenner made a reverse jam with 1:20 left to give the Bluejays the lead for good at 83-81.
After Scheierman made two free throws for an 87-84 lead with 16 seconds left, Council missed a corner 3 and Nembhard rebounded and was fouled. He made one of two free throws and Black came down the floor and drained a straight-on 3 to pull Arkansas within one. Alexander then made his two insurance free throws.
Creighton ran to a 12-point lead with 1:43 to go in the first half before the Razorbacks closed with a 6-0 run, capped by Trevon Brazile's thunderous dunk on an alley-oop pass from Anthony Black.
BIG PICTURE
Creighton: The Bluejays' free-flowing offense produced three players in double digits by halftime: Nembhard with 13 points, Scheierman 11 and Kalkbrenner 10.
Arkansas: This was a big step up in competition for the Razorbacks. They opened the season with easy home wins against North Dakota State, Fordham and South Dakota State, and then beat winless Louisville by 26 points in their Maui opener.
UP NEXT
Creighton will face either the Wildcats or Aztecs in what should be another March Madness-worthy game for the title.
Arkansas will face the SDSU-Arizona loser for third place.
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1st Half
CREI
Bluejays
40
ARK
Razorbacks
34
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Ryan Kalkbrenner vs. Makhi Mitchell (Davonte Davis gains possession)
19:39
Makhi Mitchell misses two point jump shot
19:37
Ryan Kalkbrenner defensive rebound
19:15
Arthur Kaluma offensive foul (Jordan Walsh draws the foul)
19:15
Arthur Kaluma turnover (offensive foul)
18:58
Anthony Black misses two point jump shot
18:56
Baylor Scheierman defensive rebound
18:43
+3
Ryan Nembhard makes three point jump shot (Arthur Kaluma assists)
3-0
18:28
+2
Makhi Mitchell makes two point layup (Anthony Black assists)
3-2
18:03
Baylor Scheierman misses three point jump shot
18:01
Davonte Davis defensive rebound
17:55
Davonte Davis misses two point layup
17:53
Arthur Kaluma defensive rebound
17:42
+2
Trey Alexander makes two point jump shot
5-2
17:18
Ricky Council IV misses three point jump shot
17:16
Bluejays defensive rebound
16:59
Makhi Mitchell personal foul (Ryan Kalkbrenner draws the foul)
16:56
Arthur Kaluma misses three point jump shot
16:54
Davonte Davis defensive rebound
16:38
Makhi Mitchell offensive foul (Trey Alexander draws the foul)
16:38
Makhi Mitchell turnover (offensive foul)
16:24
Ryan Nembhard turnover (lost ball) (Anthony Black steals)
16:18
+2
Anthony Black makes two point layup
5-4
16:02
Ryan Nembhard misses two point layup
16:00
Ryan Kalkbrenner offensive rebound
15:54
+3
Ryan Nembhard makes three point jump shot (Ryan Kalkbrenner assists)
8-4
15:39
+2
Davonte Davis makes two point jump shot
8-6
15:26
TV timeout
15:18
+3
Baylor Scheierman makes three point jump shot
11-6
15:18
Ricky Council IV shooting foul (Baylor Scheierman draws the foul)
15:18
+1
Baylor Scheierman makes regular free throw 1 of 1
12-6
15:08
+2
Davonte Davis makes two point jump shot
12-8
15:00
Ryan Kalkbrenner offensive foul
15:00
Ryan Kalkbrenner turnover (offensive foul)
14:45
Anthony Black turnover (lost ball) (Trey Alexander steals)
14:32
Makhel Mitchell blocks Arthur Kaluma's two point layup
14:30
Makhel Mitchell defensive rebound
14:20
Makhel Mitchell misses two point jump shot
14:18
Trey Alexander defensive rebound
14:04
+2
Ryan Kalkbrenner makes two point dunk (Trey Alexander assists)
14-8
13:52
Trevon Brazile misses two point jump shot
13:50
Baylor Scheierman defensive rebound
13:37
+2
Ryan Kalkbrenner makes two point dunk (Baylor Scheierman assists)
16-8
13:34
Razorbacks 30 second timeout
13:26
+2
Anthony Black makes two point layup
16-10
12:57
+3
Ryan Nembhard makes three point jump shot
19-10
12:38
Jordan Walsh misses two point dunk
12:36
Razorbacks offensive rebound
12:26
Davonte Davis misses three point jump shot
12:24
Ryan Nembhard defensive rebound
12:09
Trevon Brazile blocks Fredrick King's two point layup
12:07
Anthony Black defensive rebound
11:59
Ryan Nembhard shooting foul (Anthony Black draws the foul)
11:59
TV timeout
11:59
+1
Anthony Black makes regular free throw 1 of 3
19-11
11:59
+1
Anthony Black makes regular free throw 2 of 3
19-12
11:59
Anthony Black misses regular free throw 3 of 3
11:59
Fredrick King defensive rebound
11:43
+2
Baylor Scheierman makes two point jump shot
21-12
11:32
Fredrick King shooting foul (Anthony Black draws the foul)