Creighton University
Florida A&M
Men's Baskeball Takes Bite Out of Rattlers, 78-53
11/17/2009 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton won its 15th straight home opener, leading from wire-to-wire in a 78-53 victory over visiting Florida A&M on Tuesday before 15,321 fans at Qwest Center Omaha.
Creighton improved to 1-1, while Florida A&M is 0-2.
Creighton relied on the three-point shot to take a 46-26 halftime lead. Half of CU's shots in the opening 20 minutes would come from behind the arc, with the Jays making seven of those 17 attempts. Darryl Ashford made three of those trifectas and led all players with 11 points in the first half. Creighton forced FAMU into 18 turnovers before the intermission, converting those into 25 points.
Creighton's lead settled between 20 and 32 points in the second half, with its largest lead reaching 70-38 with nine minutes to go. Ethan Wragge had 10 of his 16 points in eight minutes of action after intermission.
Four men scored in double-figures for Creighton, led by 17 points from Ashford, while Wragge had 16 points off the bench. Also scoring in double-digits was Kenny Lawson Jr. with 11 points and Cavel Witter with 10 points. Wayne Runnels led CU with nine rebounds for the second straight game. Creighton finished by making 11 three-point baskets in 31 attempts from long-range. Creighton shot 43.8 percent from the floor and had 22 assists on 28 baskets.
Florida A&M was paced by 13 points from Rasheem Jenkins, while Dale Hughes and Brandon Bryant each had 10 points. The Rattlers finished with six assists and 29 turnovers while shooting just 32.1 percent from the floor. FAMU outrebounded the Jays 41-37 for the game, keyed by nine each from Yannick Crowder and Christopher Walker.
Creighton continues its homestand on Sunday with a 2:05 pm game against Arkansas-Little Rock.
NOTES: Creighton is now 81-11 all-time in home openers, including 15 straight wins and a 15-1 mark under Dana Altman ...Dana Altman is now 30-0 all-time in November home games since coming to Creighton ...Creighton avoided its first 0-2 start since 1993-94 ...Creighton is now 85-16 all-time at Qwest Center Omaha, including 20 wire-to-wire wins ...Dana Altman is now 13-0 in his career against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, including a 9-0 record at Creighton ...Kenny Lawson Jr. had a career-best with three assists and tied his high with three steals ...Both teams made 11-of-13 free throws (84.6 percent).
