Groselle, Creighton beat Wagner, advance to NIT quarters

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Geoffrey Groselle scored 18, on 7-of-7 shooting, and grabbed nine rebounds to help No. 4 seed Creighton beat eighth-seeded Wagner 87-54 Saturday in the second round of the NIT.

Zach Hanson scored 14, Khyri Thomas added 13 points and James Milliken had 12, all on a career-high tying four 3-pointers, for Creighton. Maurice Watson Jr. finished with nine points and eight assists.

The Bluejays (20-14) scored eight in a row to take a 10-3 lead. Wagner's Aaren Edmead answered with a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game, but the Seahawks (23-11) went nearly eight minutes without another made field goal. Creighton used a 12-3 run during that stretch to push its lead to 22-9 on a 3-point play by Hanson with 11:16 left in the half and led by double figures the rest of the way.

Wagner made a season-low six field goals and shot just 25 percent in the first half as Creighton took a 46-25 lead into the break.

Creighton held a 47-28 rebounding edge, shot 56 percent from the field and limited the Seahawks to a season-worst 27.9 percent shooting (17-of-61).

Michael Carey scored 13 to lead Wagner.

The Bluejays will face No. 2 seed BYU (25-10) in the quarterfinals Tuesday.