Creighton University
Evansville
Men's Basketball Trumps Aces With Record Shooting Performance
2/3/2010 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton shot a school-record 66.7 percent from the field and Antoine Young keyed an 11-0 run to start the second half as the host Bluejays rallied from an early 10-point deficit to defeat Evansville, 84-71, on Wednesday night before 15,733 fans at Qwest Center Omaha.
Creighton moved is now 12-11 overall and 7-5 in the MVC, good for sole possession of third place. Evansville lost its 13th straight game and is now 6-16 overall (0-12 MVC).
Young had eight points, a pair of steals and an assist during the 15-2 flurry that spanned the first 3:26 of the second half, causing UE coach Marty Simmons to use a pair of timeouts and ended with the Aces facing a deficit it could not overcome the rest of the evening.
Creighton scored the game's first seven points, but Evansville would lead most of first half. The Purple Aces, who averaged just 4.3 three-pointers per game, made 5-of-5 from downtown in the game's first 12 minutes to build a 27-20 lead. UE took its largest lead at 33-23 on a corner trey from Denver Holmes, the Aces seventh trifecta in eight attempts.
Evansville led 38-32 at the break in a half that saw both teams shoot the lights out. UE shot 60.9 percent in the first half (14-23) and was 7-of-10 from distance (70 percent). Colt Ryan, who torched the Jays for 26 points in the Jan. 3 meeting in Evansville, led all scorers with 14 points at intermission.
CU was paced by 12 points from Justin Carter at the break. Carter was perfect in five field goal attempts but just 1-of-4 at the line in the break. The Jays shot 63.2 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes (12-of-19), 5-of-8 from downtown (62.5 percent) and 3-of-6 at the line (50 percent).
Down six at the intermission, Casey Harriman hit a three-pointer on the opening possession and Darryl Ashford would tip in a miss on Young's breakaway lay-up. UE coach Marty Simmons immediately called timeout just 59 seconds into the half. Young would then drive to the basket and convert a three-point play, giving CU a 40-38 lead at the 18:18 mark. The following possession, Young hit a pull-up jumper to extend the run to 11-0.
Ryan would sink two free throws to end the run before Young drained a rare trey and Jones followed with a baseline drive and lay-up, pushing CU's lead to 47-40 and forcing a second timeout of the second half by UE.
Creighton's lead reached double-digits for the first time of the game on a Cavel Witter bucket to make it 67-56. CU would lead by as much as 17 points on two occasions before settling for the 13-point win.
Five men scored in double-figures for the hosts, led by 17 points and seven rebounds from Carter. Jones scored a career-high 14 points, while Young had all 12 of his season-high points after intermission. Additionally, Witter had 11 points and freshman Ethan Wragge had 10 points on a perfect shooting night from the field.
Creighton made 28-of-42 shots from the floor (66.7 percent), eclipsing the previous CU mark of 65.9 percent set on Jan. 9, 2007 vs. Drake. CU was also 10-of-18 from three-point territory (55.6 percent) and 18-of-24 at the line (75 percent).
Evansville was paced by a career-high 31 points from Ryan, five more than his previous best set vs. CU on January 3rd in Evansville. Ned Cox added 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from downtown and Clint Hopf scored 10 points. The Aces shot 50 percent for the game and made 10-of-12 free throws (83.3 percent). The Aces 61.1 percent three-point shooting included a season-best 11 three-pointers in 21 long-range attempts.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday night with a 7:05 pm game at Missouri State. The game can be heard on KXSP (Big Sports 590 AM) and will be televised on KMTV.
NOTES: Evansville's seven three-pointers in the first half were its most in any half this season ...Creighton had been 0-8 when trailing at half this season ...This is the 14th straight season Creighton has won 10 or more home games ...Creighton's 83 points were its most in the MVC this year ...Creighton's 66.7 percent shooting marked the first time its been over 50 percent since Feb. 14, 2009 at Southern Illinois ...Creighton is now 11-0 at Qwest Center Omaha in games airing on NET Sports, including a 6-0 mark vs. Evansville ...Creighton has won 11 straight home games over Evansville by an average of 18.0 points ...Creighton has won 10 of the past 11 meetings with Evansville ...Ethan Wragge is the first CU player to make a three-pointer in 10 straight games since Booker Woodfox in 2008-09 and CU's first freshman to do so since Kyle Korver in 1999-2000 ...Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 500 straight games, including Kaleb Korver (Pella) and Casey Harriman (Ida Grove) tonight ...This was Dana Altman's 200th win versus an MVC school since coming to Creighton, which includes 179 regular-season wins and 21 MVC Tournament triumphs ...This was Creighton's third straight game of 10 or more made three-point baskets ...Each of Creighton's previous five wins had been decided by five points or less ...Creighton has won 35 straight Wednesday home games ...This was Creighton's first victory in a game it had trailed by double-digits all season, but its 31st such victory in the past 10 seasons ...Creighton improved to 18-9 in games at Qwest Center Omaha in games in which it has trailed by 10 or more points at any juncture and is 8-0 in games at Qwest Center Omaha when both teams own leads of 10 or more points in the same contest.
