Tolliver's Buzzer-Beater Shocks Wichita State, 57-55
1/28/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
OMAHA, Neb. -- Anthony Tolliver drained a 15-foot jumper as time expired, lifting Creighton to a 57-55 victory over Wichita State. Creighton (14-5, 8-3 MVC), which won its 15th straight home game, overcame a 19-point deficit while downing the Shockers (17-5, 8-3 MVC) for the 13th straight season in Omaha.
After Creighton took an early 2-0 lead, the state-record crowd of 15,678 watched in amazement as Wichita State took a 25-6 lead. The Jays hit just 2-of-20 shots to open the game while falling into its largest home deficit in the three-year history of Qwest Center OMAHA.
After just six points in the first 14:14 of the game, CU came to life with seven points in the next minute. Four of those points came from Tolliver, while Brice Nengsu drained a three-pointer off the bench to cap the 7-0 surge.
CU would eventually rally to within 30-23 at the break despite 20.7 percent shooting from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. The 23 points were CU's fewest in a half at home since Feb. 16, 2000, snapping a streak of 181 straight halves of 25 points or more at home.
Though WSU would lead by as much as 10 in the second half at 38-28, Creighton continued to fight back. Nengsu drilled a pair of three-pointers to spark a 12-2 surge that let them tie it at 40-40. CU would eventually reclaim the lead at 48-47 with 7:38 to go on a driving lay-up by Tolliver.
The Shockers took their final lead of the game at 55-54 with 1:48 left when Karon Bradley made the first of two free throws. CU would even the score with 1:34 left when Tolliver split two free throws. After both teams exhanged turnovers, CU got a key defensive stop when Kyle Wilson missed a three-point attempt with 23 seconds left.
Rather than call a timeout, CU coach Dana Altman told his troops to hold it for one shot as they brought the ball upcourt. With about 10 seconds on the game clock, Josh Dotzler handed the ball to Johnny Mathies at midcourt. Mathies then drove to the hoop and kicked it out to Tolliver, who was open when his man went to help on Mathies. Tolliver drilled a high-arching shot as time expired, sending the Bluejay faithful into a frenzy. After a two-minute delay to review the shot, officials confirmed it beat the buzzer and time had expired.
Tolliver led all players with 20 points while also tying for team-best honors with five rebounds. Nengsu was the only other Bluejay in double-figures, scoring a career-high 10 points after entering the night with just 19 markers all season. CU shot 33.3 percent for the game and was just 7-of-29 from three-point range.
Wichita State was paced by 17 points and seven rebounds from PJ Cousinard. Also in double-figures were Matt Braeuer with 12 points and Bradley with 10 points off the bench. The Shockers shot 41.7 percent for the game and outreobunded the Jays 36-31. However, they were done in by 17 turnovers on the night.
Creighton returns to action with a nationally televised game against Northern Iowa. Tuesday's game tips off at 8:05 pm and will be televised by ESPNU. The game can also be heard on Big Sports 590 AM.
NOTES: The crowd of 15,678 was largest in Creighton history, eclipsing the turnout of 15,621 on Dec. 11, 2005 that saw the Jays defeat Nebraska, 70-44 ...It was Creighton's first game-winning shot as time expired since Nate Funk beat Northern Iowa 67-66 on Jan. 15, 2005 in Cedar Falls ...Prior to tonight, CU's largest-ever deficit in the 43 games of Qwest Center OMAHA had been 65-49 vs. Kent State on Dec. 7, 2004 ...Creighton is 11-3 in the last 14 home games it has trailed by 10 points or more ...Creighton won two different games against Wichita State last season despite trailing at the half ...Creighton head coach Dana Altman is now 22-0 all-time against Wichita State when holding the Shockers under 70 points, including a 19-0 mark with the Jays ...Dana Altman is now 18-1 in his career in games vs. Wichita State decided by 12 points or less, including a 17-1 mark at CU ...Creighton's previous largest comeback at home since 2001 had been an 18-point deficit they overcame to beat #17 Western Kentucky 95-91 in double-overtime on Nov. 27, 2001.
