No. 19 Iowa State defeats Creighton in Omaha, moves to 8-0

Caleb+Grill+looks+around+the+court+trying+to+pass+to+a+teammate+in+the+game+against+Arkansas+Pine-Bluff+on+Dec.+1+in+Hilton+Coliseum.

DJ Jacobi / Iowa State Daily

Caleb Grill looks around the court trying to pass to a teammate in the game against Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Dec. 1 in Hilton Coliseum.

James Powell

After picking up a 19-point win against Arkansas Pine Bluff Wednesday, Iowa State traveled to Creighton for their first true road game of the year.

Creighton was 7-1 coming into their matchup with the Cyclones, their only loss coming to Colorado State. Iowa State came in with a surprising record of 7-0 and featured quality wins over Xavier and Memphis in Brooklyn.

Neither team shot particularly well, as the two teams combined to hit three of their first 15 shots. Creighton held a 6-2 lead early thanks to a couple three-pointers from Ryan Nembhard.

13 total turnovers early made for a choppy first ten minutes or so, and Iowa State struggled to find a rhythm on offense. At the under-eight timeout, the score was just 9-8 in favor of the Cyclones, and Tre Jackson led the way with four points and a steal to boot.

Creighton used a 10-0 run to go out in front, 18-9. Iowa State was 4-20 from the field, and 0-6 from three with about five minutes left in the first half.

The score was tied at 23-apiece as both teams went into the locker room. Nembhard led all scorers with eight points, and Caleb Grill added a couple late threes, including one at the buzzer to tie the game up and give him six points to lead Cyclone scorers.

Midway through the second half, Iowa State started hitting shots at a more consistent level, and it resulted in a 39-31 lead, their largest of the game.

Grill continued his hot shooting into the second half, starting the game 4-4 from deep for a team-leading 12 points.

Iowa State maintained their slim lead into the under-eight timeout. Creighton had 20 turnovers compared to 14 made field goals at that point in the game, as the Cyclones continued their defensive intensity in the hostile road environment.

It was 54-46 with four minutes remaining, and Creighton was hanging around thanks in large part to Cyclone fouls and Ryan Hawkins, who had 19 points. Robert Jones fouled out in just seven minutes of game action and George Conditt picked up four and had to sit for a spell late in the second half.

The Bluejays cut it to five with a minute and a half remaining, as Iowa State was trying to hang on for a huge road victory, after losing 25 consecutively in their previous road tilts.

It was largely a battle of free throws in the closing minutes as both teams were far into the bonus. The margin was still five with 37 seconds to go, but the Cyclones turned it over and gave the ball back to Creighton with a chance to pull closer.

Nembhard missed a deep shot and Tyrese Hunter iced the game away, making one of two free throws with 19 seconds on the game clock.

Grill led the Cyclones with 16 points off the bench, Brockington added 10 (all in the second half) and Iowa State held on, 64-58, to win their first eight games of the season ahead of a huge date with Iowa.