Creighton University
Drake
Men's Basketball Falls at No. 16 Drake, 75-65
1/30/2008 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DES MOINES,
Two baskets by sophomore Cavel Witter evened the score at 65-65, marking the third tie of the second half. However, two free throws by Drake's Jonathan Cox and a three-pointer by Leonard Houston gave the Bulldogs a 70-65 lead with 1:50 remaining and CU was unable to score another basket the rest of the way. Drake added five free throws, to finish 15-of-16 for the game, to give the Bulldogs a deceptive 10-point victory.
Woodfox and freshman P'Allen Stinnett combined to score 20 second-half points to highlight a tremendous night for the Bluejay bench. After a Kenny Lawson Jr. jumper at the 18:36 mark in the second half, CU's bench accounted for CU's next 16 points. An emphatic dunk by Stinnett pulled CU within 49-47 at the 10:43 mark. Senior Dane Watts then gave CU its first lead since a 3-2 advantage in the first half with a three-pointer from the top of the key with 10:19 remaining.
A back-and-forth battle ensued, with the lead changing five times in the final 10 minutes. Stinnett buried two three's in a 1:23 span to give Creighton a 58-55 lead with 7:00 minutes to play. Drake answered with a 5-0 run before Woodfox put CU back in front, 61-60, with his third three-ball of the game.
However, it would be Creighton's last lead as Drake finished the game on a 15-4 run.
Four Bulldogs scored in double-figures, led by Josh Young's game-high 24 points. Jonathon Cox added 16 points, including four three-pointers, while Houston and senior guard Adam Emmenecker finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Stinnett scored 15 points, 12 coming in the second half, as Creighton out-scored Drake's bench 49-2 in the game.
The Creighton bench kept the game within reach in the first half, scoring 20 of the Bluejays' 29 first-half points. Woodfox scored 11 points in the first 20 minutes, including two three-point plays and another triple from behind the arc. He shared the half's scoring high with Drake's Young, who went 3-of-5 from downtown to lead the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs took a 9-3 lead out of the gate and held an advantage of at least three points the rest of the half. A deep three by Drake's Cox at the 1:13 mark gave the Bulldogs their largest lead of the half at 32-23. Woodfox scored CU's final six points of the half to cut the deficit to 34-29 at the break.
Two treys by Drake's Cox in the first five minutes of the second half pushed the Bulldog lead to 45-37 at the 15:32 mark. Creighton would respond with an 8-2 run to pull the score within two at 47-45 with 12:28 remaining.
The Jays will return to Qwest Center Omaha on Saturday, Feb. 2, for an MVC battle against
Game Notes: Creighton's bench out-scored Drake's reserves 20-0 in the first half ... Drake sweeps regular-season series with CU for first time since 1994-95 ... Drake shot 15-of 16 tonight and 17-of-18 in Omaha from the free throw line in the team's two meetings ... Today marked the 83rd birthday of former Creighton men's basketball coach Red McManus (1959-69), who made the trip over to Des Moines with the team on Tuesday ... Pierce Hibma returned to the starting line-up for the first time since Jan. 9 against
