Tolliver's Career-Night Lifts Jays Past Xavier, 61-59
12/18/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
OMAHA, Neb. -- Anthony Tolliver had a career-high 26 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to lead Creighton (5-2) past Xavier (5-2), 61-59, in men's basketball action on Sunday night.
Tolliver entered the contest 1-for-10 in his career from three-point range, but made a pair of treys, including a game-clinching trifecta that put CU up seven with 57 seconds left.
Creighton took a 6-0 lead in the opening two minutes, only to see Xavier respond with seven quick points to take their first lead. Creighton would start just 1-of-9 from the free throw line en route to a 5-of-15 performance at the stripe in the first half. A late three-pointer from Xavier's Johnny Wolf gave the Musketeers a 28-26 halftime lead.
Xavier drained back-to-back three-pointers in the opening minute of the second stanza to stretch their lead to 34-26. Another trey from Xavier sharpshooter Stanley Burrell made it 41-31 with 15:59 left, its largest lead of the game.
Like they did against fellow Atlantic 10 foe Dayton on Nov. 26, Creighton steadily mounted a second-half comeback. CU would tie the game 48-48 with 7:08 left on two free throws from Tolliver. A free throw from Josh Dotzler gave CU a one-point lead with 4:49 left. With 3:37 left, Tolliver hit two more free throws to cap a 10-0 run over six minutes.
With the Creighton defense holding Xavier without a field goal for nine minutes, the Bluejays would continue to get key points from Tolliver. The junior from Springfield, Mo., hit a pivotal trey with 57 seconds left with the shot clock winding down, helping CU to a 56-49 lead.
A trifecta from Xavier's Josh Duncan with 18 seconds left, their first basket in more than nine minutes, made it a four-point game, but Dotzler would make 3-of-4 at the line down the stretch to ice the victory. CU's Nick Porter made a free throw with 0.9 seconds left to give CU a four-point edge, and Xavier scored an uncontested lay-up as time expired for the final margin.
Tolliver's 26 points led all scorers and were nine more than his previous best of 17 done vs. DePaul on Nov. 30th. Dotzler scored a career-high 10 points while adding five assists and four steals. CU shot 38.3 percent from the floor, 18.8 percent from three-point range and thanks to some solid second-half marksmanship at the line, shot 61.1 percent from the free throw line. Creighton won the rebounding battle against the bigger Musketeers (35-30) and owned a 12-3 advantage in second-chance points and a 21-9 edge in points off turnovers.
Xavier was paced by 13 points from Burrell and 11 points from Justin Cage. Leading scorer Brian Thornton, who entered the contest averaging a team-best 15.0 points per game and shooting 76.2 percent from the floor, went 0-for-4 from the floor and fouled out in 25 minutes. Burrell, who entered the game ranked in the top 10 nationally with 56.3 percent accuracy from three-point range, was 1-of-8 from downtown. Xavier shot 42.9 percent for the game, 42.1 percent from three-point range and 60 percent at the line.
Creighton returns to action on Wednesday when its hosts Norfolk State in a 7:07 pm tipoff. The game will be televised by KM3 in Omaha and also broadcast on Big Sports 590 AM.
NOTES: Creighton is now 9-3 in the last 12 home games in which it has trailed by 10 points or more, including a 2-0 mark this season ...With 26 points and 10 rebounds, Anthony Tolliver had his second career-double-double. His other one came with 13 points and 10 rebounds last year against Ohio State ...Creighton has now played 48 straight home games in front of 8,000 fans or more and 17 in a row before 10,000 plus ...Creighton played without injured Jimmy Motz, Nate Funk, Pierce Hibma and Steve Smith for the second straight game ...Anthony Tolliver also took two charges for Creighton, upping his team-high total to five on the campaign.
