Sophomore B.J. Davis posted career highs with 18 points and nine rebounds, lifting San Diego State to a 71-53 victory over No. 21 Creighton on Tuesday at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

Miles Byrd, who finished with 16 points, teamed with Davis to make 13 of 21 shots from the floor, including 5 of 9 from three-point range.

Nick Boyd collected seven points, six rebounds and five assists for the Aztecs (3-1), who defeated the Bluejays (4-2) by a decisive margin of 39-25 in the second half.

San Diego State finished the game shooting a robust 48.4 percent from the floor and enjoyed a 15-1 advantage in fast-break points.

Creighton’s Pop Isaacs scored 18 points and Jackson McAndrew drained four 3-pointers to highlight his 12-point, 14-rebound performance.

Big East Preseason Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner added nine of his 11 points in the second half for the Bluejays, who played without Steven Ashworth. The senior guard was dealing with a right ankle injury suffered during Creighton’s 74-63 setback against rival Nebraska on Friday.

Kalkbrenner made a layup, converted a three-point play and added a dunk to help Creighton cut San Diego State’s lead to 44-38 with 14:28 to play in the second half. Byrd started to heat up, though, sinking a pair of 3-pointers during the Aztecs’ 12-2 run.

Pharaoh Compton’s emphatic dunk pushed San Diego State’s lead to 19 points with 2:15 to play.

Creighton made four of its first five attempts from three-point range before going 1-for-10 from beyond the arc to end the first half.

Davis drained a three-pointer to push San Diego State’s lead to 25-16 before Fredrick King made a jumper and three-point play to narrow the deficit for Creighton. Kalkbrenner made his only shot from the field – a layup – to bring the Bluejays within two points before Magoon Gwath’s jumper at the buzzer gave the Aztecs a 32-28 halftime lead.

–Field-level media