Creighton University
Illinois State
Men's Basketball Wins Valley Opener, 64-53 at Illinois State
12/29/2010 9:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORMAL, Ill. -- Antoine Young tied a season-high with 21 points and Gregory Echenique added 14 points and seven rebounds as Creighton opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 64-53 victory at Illinois State before 6,158 fans.
The win, Creighton's (9-4, 1-0 MVC) fifth straight, snapped a five-year losing streak at Redbird Arena. Illinois State (8-4, 0-1 MVC) had won six of the last seven meetings since Tim Jankovich took over four years ago.
Creighton trailed most of the first half before taking its first lead at 23-22 on two free throws from Young. That opened a stretch where Creighton scored on five of six possessions with Echenique and Kenny Lawson Jr. paired together, and gave the Jays a 31-27 lead when all was said and done. The surge came in the midst of an 11-0 run that saw Creighton go from down 27-25 to up 36-27. Creighton made 7-of-8 shots late in the half, while holding ISU 0-of-7 from the field over the final 5:25 of the half.
Keyed by 12 points from Young and eight points from Echenique, Creighton crafted a 38-29 lead at the half. The Jays shot 14-of-24 for the half, including 3-of-5 from downtown, while holding ISU to 37.0 percent marksmanship (10-27) in the first period. Jackie Carmichael led ISU with eight points in the first half, all in the first six minutes.
Creighton scored the first four points of the second half to take its largest lead at 42-29, only to undergo a six-minute drought that saw Illinois State close within 42-37. A deep trey by Anthony Cousin got the 'Birds within 46-42 with 11:49 left, only to have CU answer with a triple by Josh Jones and old-fashioned three-point plays by Young and Echenique to move Creighton ahead 56-44 with 6:02 to play.
Creighton would take 57-46 lead into the final timeout before ISU's Austin Hill split two free throws. Hill mised his second try but the 'Birds gained the rebound and Hill scored on a nifty reverse lay-up to make it an eight-point Bluejay lead. After Ashford sank two free throws wtih 2:18 left to put CU up 59-49, ISU's Alex Rubin missed two at the line with 1:57 remaining.
The Jays hit 6-of-7 free throws down the stretch to ice its first road win in three road games this winter.
Young led Creighton with 21 points, tying his season high for the third time this year. Echenique had 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in his first taste of MVC action. Four other men scored between 6-7 points. Creighton shot an even 50 percent in the victory (22-44) while also draining 16-of-20 (80 percent) from the line.
ISU was led by 12 points from Cousin, while Blake Mishler had 10 points. The Redbirds shot 35.8 percent from the floor overall (19-53), but just 5-of-18 from downtown (27.8 percent). ISU made 10-of-17 free throws (58.8 percent).
Creighton returns to Omaha to start a two-game homestand on Saturday with a 7:05 pm game against Drake. Drake defeated Southern Illinois, 69-55, on Wednesday night.
NOTES: Among those in the crowd was former Bluejay All-American Kyle Korver (1999-2003), who now lives in Illinois and plays for the Chicago Bulls ... Korver's college teammate, Al Huss, was also at the game cheering on his alma mater ... Josh Jones hit a three-pointer with 11:17 left in the first half, snapping an 0-for-16 drought from long-range to open the season ... Creighton outscored ISU 22-16 in the paint and outrebounded ISU 34-30 overall.
