Kalkbrenner's 27 help Creighton knock off Butler 87-74

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Ryan Kalkbrenner's 27 points helped Creighton defeat Butler 87-74 on Saturday.

Kalkbrenner also added 15 rebounds for the Bluejays (22-9, 15-5 Big East Conference). Steven Ashworth added 23 points while shooting 8 for 19, including 7 for 15 from beyond the arc while he also had six rebounds and 11 assists. Jackson McAndrew went 5 of 7 from the field (4 for 6 from 3-point range) to finish with 14 points.

The Bulldogs (13-18, 6-14) were led in scoring by Jahmyl Telfort, who finished with 19 points and six assists. Butler got 19 points and three steals from Patrick McCaffery. Andre Screen had 10 points and six rebounds.

Creighton took the lead with 2:49 left in the first half and never looked back. The score was 52-44 at halftime, with Ashworth racking up 21 points. Creighton outscored Butler in the second half by five points, with Kalkbrenner scoring a team-high 12 points after intermission.

Creighton finished second and Butler tied for eighth. The Big East Tournament begins on Wednesday.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.