Jays Pummel Kangaroos; Finish Non-Con 9-4

final: CREIGHTON 89 / UMKC 53

Creighton struggled a bit in the first twelve minutes of this ballgame, turning the ball over nine times in that span. Luckily for them, the offense was cooking hot enough to keep UMKC at bay.

For the first time in a while, Creighton created a lot of their shots on dribble-drive penetration, getting to the charity stripe nine times and - GET THIS - making the best of it by hitting eight of them.

Damien Jefferson started the good vibes from the free throw line by nailing a jumper from there in the first possession of the game. Jefferson stretched Creighton’s lead to five off a tip in and-one, which he completed after sinking the free throw. He was a difference maker in the early onset of the game offensively, something he’s done consistently this season.

Davion Mintz and Martin Krampelj picked up the effort from there on, with Mintz getting hot from three, and Krampelj owning the paint and stepping out for a three ball himself.

When the first ten minutes were over, Creighton exploded on a 28-10 run in the final ten. Within that run we saw some excellent and poised play from Christian Bishop, Kaleb Joseph utilize a dribble drive to open up shooters in the corners, and some vintage Bluejay run and gun in transition.

The second half evolved into Christian Bishop’s coming out party. On two consecutive possessions, the freshman:

• Got fed down low, took one dribble, dunked it
• Set a screen for Ballock off-ball, then received a lob pass and dunked it

UMKC tried their damndest to push a full court trap, hampering the young point guard Marcus Zegarowski as he turned it over once and nearly turned it over a second time before gathering himself.

On a broken play and turnover by the Jays, Ty-Shon Alexander sprinted down the court, got an impressive chase-down block, then turned around the other way and banged a wide open three from the top of the arc.

It was that kind of night.

Getting the young players some run in a 20-point ballgame is exactly what the doctor ordered.

The lead blossomed to a 30 point lead on a 12-2 run that included a jumper that died on the iron and rolled in for Connor Cashaw, a lay-up on an impressive drive baseline by Marcus Zegarowski, a three and a lay-up from Ty-Shon Alexander, and a three from Davion Mintz.

With 5:15 left and an 80-41 lead, Jordan Scurry checked into the ballgame with both Christian Bishop and Samson Froling on the floor.

Benches emptied.

Ballgame.

Meandering Thoughts Throughout

• Perhaps Davion Mintz’s newfound attention to defense is worth all the press it’s getting, but his attempts to tomahawk slam a basketball is running at a steady 33.3% success rate. It’s also earning him a 100% bench rate regardless if he plows it in or not.
• Samson Froling’s inability to understand that you should not and can not dribble in the post - especially when double teamed - is going to give Christian Bishop some of his minutes. His defense, on the other hand, will give Bishop all of his minutes.
• Defensively this team is an absolute mess sometimes. The fluid-zone to allow Krampelj to double and trap a guard has left a lot of players wide open to drive. Xavier Bishop was able to
• A very poignant tweet:

Stats!!!

CREIGHTON

UMKC