BJ Davis scored a career-high 18 points and San Diego State defeated No. 21 Creighton 71-53 on Tuesday, the opening day of the Players Era Festival at the MGM Grand Garden.

The Blue Jays struggled to find their offensive rhythm against a San Diego State defense that had eight steals and scored 13 points off turnovers.

Creighton made 21 of 62 (33.8%) from the floor while the Aztecs hit 30 of 62 (48.3%). San Diego State also finished 8 of 17 (47.0%) from 3-point range.

Miles Byrd added 16 for the Aztecs while Davis grabbed nine rebounds.

Pop Isaacs led Creighton with 18 points and added five assists. Jackson McAndrew posted a double-double for the Blue Jays with 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Ryan Kalkbrenner added 11 points.

The Aztecs, who finished as 4.5-point underdogs at BetMGM Sportsbook, snapped a mini-two-game skid against nationally ranked teams with the win.

Takeaways

Creighton: Isaacs, a Las Vegas native, turned heads with his 18-point performance in front of his hometown crowd and is now five out of 900 with 895 points. He has scored 72 points for Creighton since transferring from Texas Tech.

San Diego State: Davis, who saw limited action last season as a freshman on a guard-focused squad, has been the Aztecs’ headliner this season. He has now set career and single-game highs in four games this season. He averages 15.0 points per game.

Key moment

After falling behind 8-4 early in the game, the Aztecs went on a 21-8 run to take a 25-16 lead, with balanced performances from seven different scorers contributing to the breakthrough. San Diego State never relinquished its lead.

Key statistics

18 – San Diego State got a boost from its bench as reserves outscored Creighton’s bench 18-7, including Las Vegas native Pharaoh Compton with six points.

Next

San Diego State continues play on Wednesday when it takes on Oregon. Creighton will play No. 23 Texas A&M in the tournament on Wednesday.