NEWARK, N.J. – Ryan Kalkbrenner proved he is one of the best big men in the country with a dominating performance in No. 18 Creighton's 97-94 win over Seton Hall in triple overtime on Saturday.
The 7-foot-1 senior center, a two-time Big East defensive player of the year, had 28 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocks in 54 minutes.
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“I thought Ryan was a difference maker on both ends,” said Creighton coach Greg McDermott. “To play that many minutes and to make that many plays as the game wound down is pretty incredible.”
Kalkbrenner was 12 of 23 from the field as Creighton scored 50 points in the paint.
Creighton scored seven of the last 10 points in the third overtime, erasing an 88-83 Seton Hall lead, with the go-ahead basket coming from Trey Alexander's 3-pointer for a 93-91 advantage.
"This was an incredible Big East game,” said McDermott. “We found a way to win when it didn’t look so good in the third overtime.”
Seton Hall's loss ended a five-game winning streak in which they beat two ranked opponents, then-No. 23 Providence and then-No. 7 Marquette. Seton Hall also beat UConn earlier in the season when the Huskies were ranked No. 5.
Alexander had 23 points and Baylor Scheierman, who played the entire 55 minutes, added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Creighton (14-5, 5-3 Big East).
Kadary Richmond had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for Seton Hall (13-6, 6-2). It marked just the second triple-double in school history. Eddie Griffin posted the only other one in 2000.
“I wish we had won the game,” said Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway. “It would have been bigger for him (Richmond). But I liked the way we played. We came out of here with our heads held high."
Al-Amir Dawes and Dre Davis each scored 21 points for the Pirates.
Richmond's front-end free throw forced a third overtime at 83-83 with 12 seconds left.
Creighton scored six straight points in the second overtime to move ahead 83-79, but the Pirates battled back again, scoring the last four points to tie it at 83-83.
A dunk and a lay-in from Kalkbrenner gave Creighton a 73-69 edge in the first overtime with 1:07 to play, but Davis tied it at 75-75 with 12 seconds to go.
Steven Ashworth's layup through traffic tied it a 67-67 in regulation for the Bluejays with three seconds to play.
BIG PICTURE
CREIGHTON: A major reason for the Bluejays success is their self-discipline. They only commit an average of 10.9 fouls per game, which leads the nation. They committed 14 fouls against Seton Hall.
SETON HALL: Richmond continues to dominate the Big East. The senior guard ranks in the top 10 in scoring (2nd, 18.4 ppg), rebounds (8th, 7.7 rpg), assists (5th, 5.0) and steals (2nd, 2.6). He has been the league's player of the week the past two weeks.
UP NEXT
CREIGHTON: Hosts Xavier on Tuesday.
SETON HALL: Hosts Providence on Wednesday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball