Isaiah Zierden is having a great summer so far (Univers/WBR)
In week one of Metro Summer League action Creighton redshirt freshman Isaiah Zierden scored 37 points in a losing effort as University of Nebraska-Omaha standout CJ Carter drilled the game-winning buzzer-beater over Zierden to pull of the 100-98 win.
Fast forward now to week two which saw the young sharpshooter actually top his previous performance, scoring 41 points and showing off the ability to create his own shot from anywhere on the floor. Like last week, Isaiah and his Zurlo’s team, consisting of current Bluejay Geoff Groselle as well as former Creighton players Nick Bahe, Matthew Dorwart, and Ross Ferrarini (who was absent on Thursday), found itself in another tight one. With time ticking away in overtime and his team trailing Paragas Law Firm 77-75, Zierden caught a pass about 25-feet out, turned, fired, and sank the game-winning bomb with two seconds remaining to even his team’s record at 1-1 for the summer.
Paragas (1-1) was led by Will Artino, Creighton’s projected starting center for the 2013-2014 season, who poured in 33 points as he celebrated his 21st birthday, albeit in defeat thanks to Zierden’s heroics.
Chatman, Brooks Go Toe-To-Toe
In the 7pm game on Court #1 EQ School of Hair Design, led by Austin Chatman and Avery Dingman, narrowly edged Judd Knispel Agency 87-85. The underlying story here was the performances of Chatman and Creighton newcomer Devin Brooks. Brooks, who is expected to be Chatman’s backup for the upcoming season, once again had his injured right wrist taped up. He wasn’t even expected to be participating at this point, but he was healthy enough to score 38 points in the loss. Chatman unleashed a three-point barrage to begin the game and finished with 25 points to lead EQ in the victory.
Other notable performances: Dingman scored 24 points for EQ, while Manigat chipped in 14 for Judd.
Former Jays to the Rescue
Team Walentine, O’Toole, McQuillan & Gordon barely had enough guys to field a team as they tipped off for their 6pm showdown with the Stangs from Morningside College. However, the players they did have looked familiar to Creighton fans. Former Jays Kenny Lawson, Jr. and Justin Carter joined former/might-still-be-current Bluejay guard Grant Gibbs in a 94-88 win over the Stangs.
Lawson, Jr. led the way with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Carter, who usually plays for defending Metro Summer League Champion Bank of Nebraska, scored 13 points, mostly on highlight-reel dunks, and grabbed five rebounds. Gibbs scored most of his points in the closing moments, finishing with 12 points and four rebounds to help W.O.M.G secure the victory.
Other Scores:
Higgins Weatherguard Inc. – 73
ABIDE – 69
Free N Clean – 77
Mavs – 75
Cape Truck Acc. – 78
Shanks Law Firm – 38
Other Notes****–Next week, the Metro Basketball League games will be played on Monday, July 1st at 7PM, 8PM and 9PM. This is a change from the original schedule that was released earlier this summer. Please take note of this change if you plan on watching the games next week.