OMAHA, Neb. — Ryan Bowie registered his third career double-double with season highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds for UTSA, but six players scored in double figures for Creighton to pace the Bluejays in a 103-78 win at CenturyLink Center Omaha on Tuesday night.
Bowie, who was one of five players to produce a season or career best in scoring for the Roadrunners (0-3), went 7-of-12 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from behind the arc, to go along with his 10 boards. Gino Littles poured in a career-best 16 points and the sophomore added five rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals as UTSA continued play in the Men Who Speak Up Main Event.
Meanwhile, the Bluejays (2-0) got 24 points from Isaiah Zierden on the strength of five 3-pointers. Cole Huff added 17 points for Creighton, which shot 65.6 percent in the first half and 54.7 percent for the game.
Creighton scored the first five points of the night before Bowie hit the first of his three first-half 3-pointers and Lucas O’Brien knotted the score with an offensive rebound and putback.
However, the Bluejays hit their next seven shots as part of a 20-3 run to open up a double-digit advantage that it would keep for the rest of the contest. James Milliken’s layup with 12:32 to go in the half capped the run and gave the home squad a 28-5 lead.
Led by Bowie, the UTSA offense began to heat up. His second trey of the night helped stop the Creighton run before Nick Allen, who finished with a career-best 11 points, added a 3-pointer and J.R. Harris knocked in a 15-foot jumper to trim the deficit to 32-18 minutes later.
Following a free throw by Milliken with just three seconds left in the period, Gino Littles took a pass and raced to the middle of the floor where his heave from just beyond half court hit nothing but net as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Despite the effort, the Roadrunners trailed 61-37 at halftime.
Offensively, UTSA rode the momentum from Littles’ buzzer beater into the second half, where it would shoot 50 percent over the final 20 minutes.
A layup by Allen 16:25 to play started a stretch where the Roadrunners connected on 7-of-8 shots to pull within 76-59.
Following Allen’s bucket, Bowie sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a Littles layup and another free throw by Allen. Littles then converted an old-fashioned three-point play and found Allen for a dunk before O’Brien connected inside.
That would be as close as the visitors would get the rest of the way, as the Bluejays responded with a 12-3 run and they would go on to complete the 103-78 victory.
Austin Karrer scored five of his career-high seven points in the second half, and walk-on Kyle Massie drilled a 3-pointer in the final minutes for his first points as a Roadrunner.
UTSA will be back in action with an 8 p.m. (CT) contest on Saturday at Southern Utah (0-1).