Creighton University
Illinois State
ISU Wins Battle of the 'Birds, 67-63 in Men's Basketball
2/13/2010 4:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Illinois State placed five men in double-figures and held Creighton to one field goal in the final 8:57 to claim a 67-63 win before 16,209 fans at Qwest Center Omaha.
The game featured 20 lead changes and there were nine ties.
ISU is now 18-8 on the year and alone in third in the MVC with a 9-6 record. Creighton dropped to 13-13 overall and is 8-7 in league play.
The first half featured six ties and six lead changes before Osiris Eldridge drained a long three-pointer with less than a second left in the half. Kenny Lawson Jr. led CU with 11 points at the break, while Austin Hill had six points off the bench to pace the 'Birds.
Creighton took a 53-50 lead with 8:58 to play, but then went cold, making just one of its final seven attempts. ISU answered with the next six points to go ahead by three points, and extended it to a 12-2 run when Dinma Odiakosa scored inside with 3:47 to play. That gave ISU its largest lead of the day at 62-55 heaidng into the final media timeout.
Creighton rallied back, getting within one point on free throws by Justin Carter with both 1:02 left and again with 23.5 ticks left. The Jays would foul Eldridge with 21.8 to go and the preseason Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year missed the second try to leave the door open.
Creighton would push the ball upcourt and call its final timeout with 15.0 seconds left. The Jays would work the ball around a screen and get it to Kaleb Korver, who passed up an open three-pointer in favor of resetting the offense at the top of the key. Korver would try to feed Lawson inside, but Lawson was unable to grab the pass and it trickled out-of-bounds with 2.1 seconds left. Redbird guard Lloyd Phillips sank two foul shots with 1.4 seconds left to ice the victory.
Lawson led CU with 20 points while Carter had 14 points and nine rebounds for CU. Creighton shot 37.0 percent for the game and 5-of-20 (25.0 percent) from downtown. CU also made 24-of-28 free throws (a season-high 85.7 percent) and outrebounded the 'Birds 32-30.
ISU was led by 12 each from Odiakosa and Eldridge. Phillips had 11 points and reserves Austin Hill and Kellen Thornton each added 10 points. ISU shot 50.9 percent for the game (27-53), including 63.6 percent marksmanship (14-22) after intermission. ISU was 3-of-11 from downtown and 10-for-16 at the line.
Creighton returns to action on Tuesday at 7:05 pm with a game at No. 19 Northern Iowa. That game can be heard on KXSP (Big Sports 590 AM) and will be televised by FSN Midwest.
NOTES: Ethan Wragge made a three-pointer in his 13th straight game, the longest streak by a freshman in Bluejay history ...Creighton fell to 11-2 at home this season ...Creighton moved over the 200,000 mark in home attendance for the year for the fifth time. No other MVC school has ever done that even once ...Justin Carter tied a career-best with four steals, also the most by any Bluejay in a game this season ...Illinois State has now won seven of the past eight meetings with Creighton to take a 40-24 lead in the series ...Creighton fell to 5-2 in MVC games decided by five points or less this season and is now 19-5 all-time at Qwest Center Omaha versus league foes in games decided by five or less ...Creighton fell to 1-10 when trailing at the half this season ...Justin Carter finished one rebound shy of his first career double-double ...Antoine Young dished a career-high six assists ...Kenny Lawson Jr. attempted, and made, the first three-pointer of his career midway through the second half to give CU a 48-46 lead.
