Creighton University
Samford
Men's Basketball Pounds Glass, Samford, in 58-40 Win
12/22/2010 10:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Doug McDermott had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Creighton held Samford to a Qwest Center Omaha record-low 40 points while posting a 58-40 victory over Samford on Wednesday night. Creighton outrebounded Samford 45-19 for the game, a Qwest Center Omaha record for rebound margin and the program's largest since an identical +26 victory on the boards on Dec. 29, 2001 against Mississippi Valley State.
Creighton (8-4) won its fourth straight game and heads into Missouri Valley Conference play next Wednesday at Illinois State. Samford (8-5) had its three-game win streak snapped in the setback.
Creighton could not score early on, missing its first six shots from the floor and owning six turnovers while falling behind 7-0 before an Antoine Young hoop made it 7-2 with 13:07 left in the first half. After Samford answered with a three-pointer by Omaha native Andy King, Creighton unleashed a 15-2 run that saw it take the lead for good at 17-12. Omaha-metro natives Antoine Young (6) and Josh Jones (4) helped spur the flurry of points, with McDermott scoring the final five.
Creighton took a 24-19 lead into the break, limiting Samford to 30.4 percent shooting and just 3-of-12 from downtown. Young had eight points to lead all players in the first half, while the Bulldogs were led by five each from King and Jeffrey Merritt.
Creighton's lead reached 10 for the first time at 34-24 on a three-pointer from center Kenny Lawson Jr., and would remain at five or more the rest of the night. A 10-2 run, keyed by four points each from McDermott and Young, ended any chance of the Bulldogs replicating their 13-point comeback victory at UTSA on Monday night.
In addition to McDermott's 14 points and 11 rebounds, Young also finished with 14 points. Creighton outrebounded the Bulldogs 45-19, including 25-7 after halftime. The Jays shot 41.5 percent from the floor overall, 34.8 percent from downtown and 60 percent from the line. Creighton outscored Samford 16-0 after offensive rebounds.
Samford was led by nine points from Merritt. The Bulldogs entered the night ranked third nationally with 10.5 three-pointers per game, but were held to 6-of-22 shooting from downtown.
Creighton will take a week off before returning to game action with its Missouri Valley Conference opener, a 7:05 pm contest at Illinois State on Dec. 29th. Creighton's next home game will be Jan. 1 vs. Drake and also start at 7:05 pm.
NOTES: This was part of the first Creighton basketball doubleheader since January 26, 2003 ... Samford has been outrebounded in 11 straight games ... Samford's only offensive rebound came with 44 seconds remaining by Will Cook ... Antoine Young's streak of 17 straight games with three or more assists was ended, but he did extend his streak without a negative assist/turnover ratio to 27 ... Creighton has had just two players from Alabama since 1970, Marcus Lockett (Tuscaloosa, 1994-96) and Brandon Sims (Birmingham, 2002-03) ... Creighton is 44-0 in regular-season non-televised games at Qwest Center Omaha ... Creightno is now 10-2 in games that start after 8 pm at Qwest Center Omaha, including eight straight wins ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 547 straight games, while Samford has done it in 577 straight ... Kenny Lawson Jr. made his 100th career start ... Creighton has played on December 22 each of the last five years, winning all five games by an average of 17.8 points ... Half of Samford's 44 field goal attempts were from three-point range, which was actually below their average off 55.5 percent of their attempts coming from downtown ... Creighton's 15 turnovers were a season-high ... Kenny Lawson Jr. had seven points, moving him into a tie for 28th place in Creighton history with Tim Powers (1964-67) ... Samford's 40 points were a season-low for the Bulldogs and matched the 40 points by Alcorn State on Nov. 15, 2004 for the fewest in facility history ... Creighton has won 37 straight home games on Wednesday's against unranked teams, dating to December of 1999 ... Creighton owns 30 straight regular-season home wins vs. unranked teams ... Darryl Ashford tied a career-high with seven rebounds.
