Creighton University
Drake
#22 Drake Takes OT Thriller in Men's Basketball, 68-60
1/22/2008 10:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The win was Drake's first in Omaha since 2002 and just DU's second in the past 11 meetings with the Bluejays at any site.
Creighton (14-4, 5-3 MVC) had eight first-half three-point baskets and took a 30-24 lead into the half. But for the fourth straight game, Drake rallied from a halftime deficit to pick up a win down the stretch.
A layup from CU's P'Allen Stinnett to open the second half gave Creighton a 32-24 lead, but Drake answered with 12 straight points to take a 36-32 lead. The teams would exchange leads eight times in the second half.
Dane Watts' drained a three-pointer with 3:22 to play to give CU a 50-48 lead, only to have Drake guard Adam Emmenecker respond with a lay-up to tie the score at 50-all. With 2:04 left, Drake's Jacob Baryenbruch sank two free throws to tie the score with 2:04 left at 52-52. After a defensive stop, Bluejay freshman Kaleb Korver was fouled on a drive to the hoop with 1:15 to go. Korver drained the first, but missed the second.
Another defensive stand by the Bluejays followed with Millard splitting two free throws to give CU a 54-52 lead with 37 seconds left. Emmenecker missed a lay-in with 26 seconds left, but Leonard Houston's stickback with 24.9 seconds left tied the game at 54. The Jays had the ball for a final shot, but Millard's trey from the right corner missed long off the rim.
Neither team scored in the first 2:15 of overtime before Drake guard Josh Young buried a three-pointer from the top of the key. Young, the MVC's leading scorer, was seeing his first action since a sprained ankle 13 days earlier. Houston's lay-up 35 seconds later gave Drake a five-point lead. Creighton had a chance to tie with 1:11 left on a three-point try by Cavel Witter, but it was off the mark and Drake hit 9-of-10 free throws in the final 67 seconds to nab its sixth straight road win.
Senior Dane Watts led Creighton with 13 points and eight rebounds in the setback. His basket with 11:57 left in the first half made him the 32nd player in CU history with 1,000 career points or more. Witter also scored in double-figures, scoring 12 points and snaring a season-best five rebounds. Kaleb Korver, the younger brother of Utah Jazz star Kyle Korver and Drake senior Klayton Korver, had seven points in 15 minutes, making both three-point tries. CU shot 34.5 percent for the game, but just 1-of-10 in overtime. The Bluejays did make 12 three-pointers, but hoisted a school-record 34 three-point attempts in the process.
Drake shot 37.5 percent for the game and 30 percent from three-point territory, but hit 17 straight free throws before missing its final attempt with 20 seconds left in OT. Klayton Korver led the Bulldogs with 14 points in 38 minutes, while Emmenecker had 12 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals. Drake outrebounded CU 9-3 in overtime and tied the Jays on the glass, 38-38, after trailing that category by nine at half.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday night at 8 pm Central with a trip to Carbondale, Ill., to take on Southern Illinois. ESPN's College GameDay will be broadcast from SIU Arena, and the game will be called by the network's elite crew of Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Erin Andrews. The game can also be heard on Big Sports 590 AM.
NOTES: Creighton has now played an overtime game with Drake in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 ...Nick Bahe's seven rebounds were a career-high ...The sixth-largest crowd in Creighton history (17,053) was on hand ...Creighton has hit 10 or more three-pointers in four straight games ...Among those in attendance was former Bluejay All-American Kyle Korver, who had an off-night with the Utah Jazz ...Creighton had a five-game win streak snapped ...Creighton had been 18-0 all-time at Qwest Center Omaha against teams that entered a game with one or no losses ...Creighton head coach Dana Altman dropped to 7-13 at Creighton against ranked teams ... Creighton fell to 1-1 this season in overtime games ...Creighton has led Drake at halftime of 14 straight games played in Omaha ...Drake's 16-game win streak matches the MVC's longest since 1986-87.
