Big East preseason player of the year Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 49 points and 15th-ranked Creighton needed just about every one of them in a season-opening 99-86 win over UT-Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday night.
Creighton, a Sweet 16 team three of the last four seasons, couldn’t shake off the Vaqueros of the Southland Conference until the final two minutes.
The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner’s point total was the second-highest in program history behind Bob Portman’s 51 against UW-Milwaukee in 1967. The fifth-year center was an astonishing 20 of 22 from the field, including 2 for 2 on 3-pointers, and he made 7 of 8 free throws. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.
Steven Ashworth scored 25 points for the Bluejays.
Hasan Abdul-Hakim had 24 points and Cliff Davis and DK Thorn added 17 apiece for the Vaqueros (0-2), who were within 87-82 when Howie Fleming Jr. made a…
