Creighton University
Illinois State
Redbirds Hand Men's Basketball 80-67 Loss
12/29/2007 11:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Illinois State scored 11 of the game's first 13 points and never trailed in an 80-67 win over host Creighton on Saturday night. The Redbirds placed five players in double-figures, led by 20 off the bench from Levi Dyer.
Illinois State (9-3, 1-0 MVC) won its third straight road game while handing Creighton (9-2, 0-1 MVC) its largest home loss since Jan. 3, 1996. CU's streak of 181 straight games without a double-digit home loss had ranked as the nation's oldest streak in that obscure category.
Illinois State forced three consecutive turnovers to start the game to take a early 6-0 lead, and after a Dane Watts basket the 'Birds scored the next five to build an 11-2 lead by the first media timeout. The Jays would not get within four the rest of the night.
Dyer nailed three trifectas in a span of 77 seconds to help the Redbirds to a 38-19 lead with 3:12 to play in the first half. Bluejay freshman P'Allen Stinnett did his best to cut into the deficit, scoring eight straight CU points to get his team within 40-27, and CU would trail 42-29 at the intermission.
Creighton scored the first five points of the second half to cut the deficit into single-digits at 42-34, but ISU sophomore Osiris Eldridge drained a three-pointer to stem the tide. The closest the Bluejays got in the second half was 48-41 on a three-point play by Cavel Witter with 15:15 to go, but Eldridge hit back-to-back baskets to start an 8-0 run that was capped by Dyer's four-point play.
Stinnett had 22 points in his MVC debut while also hauling down a career-best seven rebounds. He hit 9-of-13 shots, including 4-of-7 from downtown, and also had two assists and two steals in 28 minutes off the bench. Dane Watts had 11 points, six rebounds and tied career-highs with five assists and three blocks. The Bluejays shot 45.3 percent from the floor, 32.0 percent from three-point range and hit 68.8 percent at the line. However, CU was done in by 16 turnovers, including 10 in the opening 20 minutes.
In addition to Dyer's 20 points and 5-of-7 shooting from downtown, Eldridge had 15 second-half points to go with six rebounds. Anthony Slack avoided foul trouble to post a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) while Dinma Odiakosa and Boo Richardson both scored 10. ISU shot 51.9 percent from the floor and hit 7-of-15 from downtown (46.7 percent) while also making 17-of-31 shots at the stripe (54.8 percent). The Redbirds had 14 offensive rebounds and claimed a 36-30 edge on the glass over the hosts while also outscoring CU 36-28 in the paint.
Creighton will play four of its next five games on the road, beginning Jan. 2 at Indiana State. That game can be heard on KXSP (Big Sports 590 AM) and will be televised by KMTV. Tip off is set for 6:05 pm Central.
NOTES: This was the first time in Creighton's 72-game history at Qwest Center Omaha that the Bluejays never held a lead ...Illinois State's 13-point halftime lead (42-29) was the second-largest by any team over Creighton in Qwest Center Omaha annals ...Illinois State's 19-point lead late in the first half (38-19 with 3:12 to play) matched the largest-deficit Creighton has ever faced at Qwest Center Omaha history ...Creighton had a nine-game home winning streak snapped ...A crowd of 16,808, sixth-largest in CU history, was on hand ...Illinois State had lost 22 straight games before crowds of 6,800 or more prior to tonight.
