Ryan Kalkbrenner thrilled with 49 in the opening win for Creighton

OMAHA, Neb. – Big East preseason player of the year Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 49 points, and 15th-ranked Creighton needed almost every one of them in its season-opening 99-86 win over UT-Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday night .

The 6-foot-11 Kalkbrenner, a fifth-year center, was 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.

“We went into that game trying to work together to try and establish myself in the post,” Kalkbrenner told Fox Sports 1 after the game. “I saw a couple go in and it just went from there further.”

The eye-opening statistics placed him at or near the top of a number of records, including:

• It was the fifth-most points ever scored in a game in Big East history

• It was the second-most points in Creighton history, behind Bob Portman's 51 against UW-Milwaukee in 1967

• It was the second-highest point total by a player in a season opener in the last 25 years (Arkansas' Rotnei Clarke had 51 in a win over Alcorn State in 2009).

• The 20 field goals made tied the Big East record in a single game (Providence's MarShon Brooks against Notre Dame in 2011).

• The 91% shooting percentage from the floor was the highest field goal percentage in a 45-point game by any Division 1 player in the last 25 seasons and the highest by a player in a game in the last 25 years Attempted 20 or more shots

“To go to work like he did in the offseason and then really be under the lights for the first time to do something superhuman is pretty special,” Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said. “And he deserves it. There is no person on the planet more deserving of success than Ryan Kalkbrenner because he goes after everything every day.”

Even with Kalkbrenner's effort, Creighton, a Sweet 16 team three times in the last four seasons, was only able to shake off the Southland Conference Vaqueros in the final two minutes.

Hasan Abdul Hakim had 24 points and Cliff Davis and DK Thorn added 17 each for the Vaqueros (0-2), who were within 87-82 when Howie Fleming Jr. made a fifth-chance basket with 2:37 left.

Steven Ashworth scored 25 points for the Bluejays.

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.