Creighton Men's Basketball Season Ends vs Auburn
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The 2024-25 Creighton men's basketball season came to an end with an 82-70 loss to top-seeded and fourth-ranked Auburn on Saturday evening at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. The Tigers used a 20-4 run midway through the second half to pull away in a close game that featured 16 lead changes and seven ties in the first 26 minutes.
The game marked the final contest for Creighton seniors Ryan Kalkbrenner, Steven Ashworth, Jamiya Neal and Sami Osmani, who combined for 5,453 points, 2,214 rebounds, 1,203 assists and 447 blocked shots at the collegiate level.
The teams exchanged leads seven times in the first 13 minutes as the Bluejays torched the nets from three-point land. CU's first 18 points came via the three-point shot, including three treys from Steven Ashworth. The senior's third trifecta of the first half with eight minutes left gave Creighton a 25-23 lead. McAndrew his fourth three-ball of the half with 28 seconds left to give Creighton a 37-35 lead on the 13th lead change of the half. It was McAndrew's 69th three-pointer of the season, setting a Creighton single-season record for a freshman.
McAndrew led all players with 12 points while Ashworth had 11 points and five assists. Reserve Chaney Johnson had eight points for AU, while National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome had four points but did grab a game-high seven boards in the first half for the Tigers.
The Tigers turned the tide in the second half with a 10-0 run in a span of 97 seconds to go in front 58-50. Chad Baker-Mazara had the first five points in the run, followed by a step-back three-pointer from Denver Jones and a dunk by Dylan Cardwell to prompt a Bluejay timeout with 12:27 remaining. CU went inside to get a pair of Kalkbrenner baskets, only to have Auburn counter with a second 10-0 run to extend the lead to 68-54 with six minutes remaining.
CU had one last spurt. Fedor Zugic buried a three-pointer, Kalkbrenner made a lay-up and Neal a dunk to help Creighton close within 68-61 with 4:12 to go, 72-65 with 2:30 left and 74-67 with 2:11 to play. A defensive stop and Kalkbrenner foul shot brought the Jays within 74-68 with 1:39 left, but a three--point play by Denver Jones with two seconds on the shot clock stopped CU's last gasp.
Kalkbrenner had 18 points and seven rebounds in his final collegiate game to lead CU, while Neal (13), Ashworth (13), McAndrew (12), and Fedor Zugic (10) also scored in double-figures. Ashworth dished eight assists.
Auburn got 17 points from Baker-Mazara and 23 by Tahaad Pettiford. Broome came in averaging 18.7 points per game but the SEC Player of the Year and Sporting News National Player of the Year was held to eight on 4-for-13 shooting, though he did grab 12 rebounds. Auburn will face fifth-seeded Michigan next Friday in Atlanta in the Regional Semifinals.