Creighton University
Rockhurst (Ex.)
Men's Basketball Soars Past Rockhurst, 81-42
11/6/2011 5:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. - The Creighton men's basketball team controlled the opening tip and never looked back, scoring the first nine points of the game and cruising to an 81-42 exhibition game victory over Division II Rockhurst in front of 13,533 at CenturyLink Center Omaha on Sunday. Doug McDermott led the Bluejays offensively, scoring 19 points and pulling down six rebounds, as 12 different Jays scored.
The Jays controlled the tempo early, as defense turned into points for Creighton. Doug McDermott and Jahenns Manigat each converted steals in the opening minute of play for a 5-0 Bluejay lead early. Creighton took an 11-2 lead into the first media timeout, led by McDermott with seven points just four minutes into the game.
Creighton extended its lead to 11 on a Josh Jones lay-up with 14:46 remaining in the half, before Rockhurst went on a 4-0 run thanks to jumpers by Russell Burns and Terance Tatum. After an Antione Young lay-up and two free-throws from McDermott, the Hawks cut the lead to 20-17 with jump shots from Tom Shirley and two from Brandon McCann.
The Jays then finished the opening half on a 12-2 run, capped off with back-to-back buckets from Echenique to finish the opening half with a 35-22 lead.
Twelve different Jays saw playing time in the opening frame, with seven scoring at least a single bucket. Leading the way for the Jays in the opening half was McDermott, who finished the first with 11 points in 13 minutes of play. Echenique and Avery Dingman finished the half with six each, while Echenique and Will Artino each picked up three boards.
Echenique came out of the locker room for the second half on a mission, scoring the opening four points and adding a block to set the tone for the second half. Creighton's smallest lead of the second half was the halftime margin of 13, as the Jays continued to pour on the points offensively through the half. The Jays finished with 27 points off 23 forced Rockhurst turnovers.
The Jays finished the second half with a 14-2 run, holding Rockhurst to without a field goal in the final 4:50 of the game. Four different Jays finished with double-digits on the day, with McDermott leading the way with 19, followed by Echenique with 12, Dingman with 11 and Manigat with 10.
Creighton's bench finished the game with 34 points, led by Dingman with 11. Austin Chatman added six points and a game-best six assists, while Wragge and Artino added eight and four points, respectively. The Bluejay bench also combined for 24 boards and five blocks (two each by Geoff Groselle and Artino).
Creighton opens the 2011-12 regular season with a home game against North Carolina A&T on Friday, November 11, as part of the Dale Howard Classic. The game, which will be played at CenturyLink Center Omaha, will tip off at 7:05 p.m.
Notes: Creighton is now 37-6 in exhibitions since 1987, including winning the last 11 straight ... Head coach Greg McDermott is now 19-0 in exhibition games as a Division I head coach ... Seventeen different Bluejays saw playing time in the game, including freshmen Austin Chatman, Avery Dingman Geoff Groselle, Nevin Johnson, Will Artino, Alex Olsen and Mogboluwaga Oginni. The freshmen combined for 24 points and 15 boards ... True freshman Avery Dingman led the Jays from the outside, finishing 3-5 from three-point range. Ethan Wragge and Jahenns Manigat each had two three-point baskets ... Possibly the biggest eruption from the crowd, as well as Creighton's bench, came with the Mogboluwaga Oginni dunk with just over 30 seconds left in the game ... Creighton never trailed ... Creighton has not started a true freshman in its exhibition opener since Latrell Wrightsell prior to the 1988-89 campaign ... Creighton has won its last seven exhibition games by double-figures.
