OMAHA, Neb. – Big East Conference Preseason Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 49 points, and 15th-ranked Creighton needed just about all of them in a 99-86 season-opening win over UT-Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday evening.

The 7-foot-1 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 the game with the plan to establish myself in the post and we went with that,” he said. “I kept working and didn’t really think about what happened the previous piece. I just tried to make the next one.”

The startling statistic placed him at or near the top of a number of records, including:

• It was the fifth-most points 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-most points by a player in a season opener in the last 25 years (Arkansas’ Rotnei Clarke had 51 points in a win over Alcorn State in 2009)

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

• The 91% shooting from the field was the highest field goal percentage in a 45-point game by a Division I player in the last 25 seasons and the highest percentage by a player who attempted 20 or more shots in a game in the past 25 years

“To come to work like he did in the offseason and then the first time you’re really under the spotlight doing something superhuman, it’s pretty special,” Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said. “And he deserves it. There is no person on this planet more deserving of success than Ryan Kalkbrenner because of the way he approaches everything on a daily basis.”

The crowd began chanting encouragement late in the game, begging Kalkbrenner to shoot so he could reach the 50-point mark. Kalkbrenner, not knowing he was one point away, decided to pass the ball to a guard and run out the clock.

“It’s great to have a good first game,” Kalkbrenner said, “but we still have thirty games to go, and hopefully games that mean a lot more.”

As he walked off the field and through the tunnel after the buzzer, fans nearby chanted “MVP! MVP!”

Even with Kalkbrenner’s efforts, Creighton, a Sweet 16 team the past four seasons, could only shake off the Southland Conference’s 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 with 2:37 left.

Kalkbrenner, who is averaging 14 points per game in his career, considered leaving Creighton after last season to enter the NBA draft. He decided to return to the school for a fifth season so he could polish his game.

“This is my 15th year and five have been with him,” McDermott said. “It has been a blessing to coach him and watch him. He is just as hungry to learn as he was when he walked on campus as a freshman. He approaches film and his work in exactly the same way. He decided to come back because He thought he could make those strides and prepare himself for the next level. Tonight is a good first step in that direction.”

This report uses information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press.