College Basketball

Strong start lifts Creighton past Alabama 72-54 in NIT

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:11 p.m. ET

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Maurice Watson Jr. scored 20 points and Creighton took control early and eased to a 72-54 win over Alabama in a first-round game of the NIT on Tuesday night.

Khyri Thomas added 15 points and Geoffrey Groselle had 12 with a career-high 14 rebounds for the Bluejays (19-14).

Creighton grabbed a 25-16 lead with a 13-2 run and led 30-19 at the half. A 3-pointer by Thomas 4 1/2 minutes into the second half made it 41-23. Alabama was within 10 with more than 5 minutes remaining but couldn't get any key stops as the Crusaders shot 53 percent in the second half.

Justin Coleman had 18 points, hitting four 3s, for Crimson Tide (18-15), which fell to 5-8 on the road. Leading scorer Retin Obasohan (17.7 ppg) scored 11 of his 13 in the second half.

Alabama only shot 24 percent in the first half (7 of 29), going 3 of 16 from 3-point range. The Tide finished at 28 percent with eight 3s in 31 attempts.

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