Jamiya Neal's monster game leads Creighton past UNLV

Jamiya Neal finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and four blocks to lead host Creighton over UNLV 83-65 on Saturday in Omaha, Neb.

Creighton was without star Pop Isaacs, who was ruled out for the season on Saturday morning after undergoing surprise hip surgery. It was a startling turn, considering Isaacs led Creighton with 27 points in Wednesday's win over No. 1 Kansas.

Neal and Steven Ashworth (17 points) anchored the backcourt in Isaacs' absence, combining to make 13-of-20 shots from the field. Neal made 7 of his 10 and Ashworth 6 of 10.

Isaac Traudt also stepped up, making five 3-pointers off the bench to account for all 15 of his points. Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 12 points, making 4-of-5 attempts from the field, and added six rebounds.

Creighton opened the second half on a 10-0 run, extending its lead to 49-27 before UNLV mustered an answer.

Creighton made 10 consecutive shots early in the second half, extending its lead to a 62-41 with 12:20 remaining.

Dedan Thomas Jr. paced UNLV with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, making 1 of 4 attempts from 3-point range. Jailen Bedford added a team-high 20 points for the Rebels on 8-of-15 shooting, scoring 17 points in the second half.

Julian Rishwain added 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, but UNLV's second leading scorer for the season, Jeremiah Cherry, was limited to just four points in 16 minutes after early foul trouble.

Creighton shot a resounding 63.3 percent from the field for the game, including going 10-of-20 from beyond the arc. Creighton outscored UNLV 38-34 in the paint and outrebounded them 34-21.

UNLV finished the game shooting 42.2 percent field, making 7-of-21 attempts from distance.