After slow start, Creighton overpowers D-II Bemidji State

Feb 14, 2018, 03:54 am

OMAHA, Neb. -- Freshman Jacob Epperson scored a season-high 15 points and Marcus Foster added 12 points and eight rebounds to help Creighton beat Division II Bemidji State 94-46 on Tuesday night.

Tyler Clement had 11 points and Khyri Thomas 10 for Creighton (19-7) as 11 Blue Jay players scored at least five points.

Bemidji State made 10 of its first 15 field-goal attempts and led 26-16 after Sharif Black hit a 3-pointer midway through the first half. The Beavers, however, had scoreless stretches of 4 1/2 and three minutes during a 23-2 Creighton run before Christian Pekarek's layup cut their deficit to 45-34 at the break. The Blue Jays scored the first six second-half points and later had runs of 18-0 and 14-0.

Black led Bemidji State with 13 points and Pekarek scored 11. The Beavers were just 4-of-33 (12.1 percent) shooting in the second half and shot 27 percent overall.

Zach Baumgartner hit a 3-pointer to give the Beavers a 30-22 lead with 8:17 left in the first half, but Creighton scored 72 of the last 88 points.