Creighton University
Fairfield
Men's Basketball Tops Fairfield, Heads To Missouri State For Semi's Next
3/22/2010 9:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Kenny Lawson Jr. and Justin Carter combined for 33 points and 18 rebounds as Creighton advanced to the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament with a 73-55 win over Fairfield on Monday night at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
Creighton will next face league rival Missouri State on Wednesday at 7:05 pm in Springfield, Mo.
Creighton, which relied on its bench for 56 points in its opening-round victory over South Dakota last Tuesday, led the majority of the first half behind strong play from its starting five to take a 32-25 lead into intermission. The host's opening quintet scored 30 of Creighton's 32 first half points, including 10 points from Kenny Lawson Jr. and eight points and three steals by Josh Jones. Fairfield was paced by eight points in the first half by Anthony Johnson.
After Creighton scored to open the second half and go ahead 34-25, Fairfield answered with the next eight points in 73 seconds and prompt a Bluejay timeout. Derek Needham, held to 2-of-8 shooting in the first half, drained a pair of three-pointers to start the Stag flurry. A free throw from Johnson tied the score at 34 with 15:36 left. The Stags took their only lead of the second half at 38-37 on a lay-up in transition by Needham, but Creighton scored the next eight points and didn't trail again. That run included a free throw from Carter, a trey from Antoine Young and two scores from Darryl Ashford.
The Stags would trim their deficit to 47-43 with 8:51 before three straight trifectas from Creighton put the game out of range. Ethan Wragge started the blitz with a trey from the top of the key, his 20th straight game with a three-pointer and freshman school-record 64th of the season. Carter then drained a three from the left corner and Lawson Jr. added a rare three-pointer to make it 56-45 with 6:51 left.
From there, Fairfield would get no closer than 60-53 with 2:34 left, unable to replicate its magical comeback from 27 down in the second half at George Mason in the CIT opening round last week.
Creighton shot 24-for-56 (42.9 percent) from the field, 7-for-15 (46.7 percent) from three-point range and 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) at the free throw line. Lawson Jr. made up for a two-point showing against South Dakota with 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Carter answered his 1-for-10 game last week with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double in the past three games. Young also scored in double-digits with 11 points and five assists, giving him 100 helpers on the season. Creighton outrebounded Fairfield 41-35 for the night.
Fairfield shot 20-for-60 (33.3 percent) from the field, 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) from downtown and 12-of-15 (80 percent) at the charity stripe. Johnson had 19 points and seven rebounds to go with four blocks, while Needham scored 15. Mike Evanovich, who torched George Mason for 31 points and nine three-pointers last week, drained a three-pointer on his first possession but did not score the rest of the night.
Creighton next plays at Missouri State on Wednesday at 7 pm. The teams split in the regular-season, with Creighton winning 76-72 on Jan. 24 in Omaha and Missouri State winning 70-52 on Feb. 6 in Springfield.
NOTES: The game was Creighton's second straight at the Omaha Civic Auditorium ...Josh Jones had a career-high three steals, all in the first half ...Kenny Lawson Jr.'s eight rebounds this year give him 225 on the year, the most by one player in Dana Altman's 16 years at Creighton ...Creighton has now won 19 straight games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in a streak that dates to 2002 ...Creighton has scored 67 or more points in its last 25 games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium ...With Missouri State also advancing, the Missouri Valley Conference is guaranteed a team in the final of the CIT for the second straight year. Last year Bradley advanced to the final to play Old Dominion ...Creighton's final points came from freshman walk-on Matt Dorwart, his first points as a Bluejay.
