Creighton University
Evansville
Men's Basketball Moves Into Fourth With Win Over Aces
2/5/2011 4:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Antoine Young led five men in double-figures as the Creighton men's basketball team topped Evansville, 75-69, before 14,850 fans on Saturday at Qwest Center Omaha. The win, Creighton's (15-10, 7-6 MVC) 12th in a row at home over the Purple Aces, lifts Creighton into a three-way tie for fourth place with Evansville and Indiana State.
Evansville (13-10, 7-6 MVC) went up 23-15 in the first 12 minutes behind red-hot 10-for-14 shooting from the floor. Colt Ryan was 4-of-5 for eight points to start the contest. Creighton senior Kenny Lawson Jr. then came off the bench and got the Jays back into the game. His putback, followed consecutive three-pointers, evened the score at 23 and got the crowd going. Then, with leading scorers Lawson and Doug McDermott on the bench with two fouls, Creighton closed the first half on a 9-0 run. Josh Jones scored the first five pionts in that burst to give CU its first lead at 33-32, while Gregory Echenique had the final four points to put Creighton up 37-32 at intermission.
McDermott and Lawson each had eight points in the first half to lead Creighton. McDermott led all players with five rebounds, while Lawson added three caroms. The Jays shot 48.4 percent for the half and had 12 assists against just five turnovers. Evansville was led by eight points each by Denver Holmes and Ryan. The Aces shot 63.6 percent in the first half.
After Evansville scored twice to get within one points out of the half, Creighton took over the game with a 17-2 run, including 13 straight at one point over a stretch of six-minute period. Creighton's Young had his fingerprints all over that game-changing surge, scoring 12 points and assisting on another hoop. When all was said and done, Creighton was up 55-38 with 11:48 to play.
Down the stretch Evansville got within six points twice in the final 35 seconds, but no closer. Creighton made 7-of-10 free throws in the final minute to ice the win.
Young led Creighton with 21 points and seven assists, while McDermott had 15 points and 10 rebounds for his Valley-high seventh double-double of the year. Josh Jones had 12 points, four assists and three steals off the bench, Echenique had 11 points and Lawson had 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Creighton outrebounded the Aces 35-24 for the afternoon, and used 15 offensive rebounds to claim a 17-0 advantage in second-chance points. Creighton also dished 21 assists on its 27 baskets and had eight steals on the day.
UE was paced by 20 points from Ryan, while Denver Holmes (15) and Jordan Jahr (10) also were in double-figures. Evansville finished by making 57.1 percent from the floor, and made its final four foul shots to finish 7-of-13 at the line (53.8 percent).
Creighton returns to action on Tuesday night with a 7:05 pm game at I-80 rival Drake (10-14, 5-8 MVC). The Bulldogs knocked off Northern Iowa on Saturday afternoon to snap UNI's eight-game win streak.
NOTES: Kenny Lawson Jr. moved into ninth in Creighton history in career rebounds. He now owns 692 in his career to pass Dane Watts (686) ... Creighton outrebounded UE 35-24 ... Doug McDermott has had seven or more rebounds in 12 straight games ... Doug McDermott led Creighton with 10 rebounds, the 10th straight game he's led the team in that category. That's the longest run by one Bluejay player since Benoit Benjamin's streak of 32 straight games from 1984-85 ... Doug McDermott now has at least 15 points and seven rebounds in 10 of Creighton's first 13 MVC games. No other player owns more than five ... The game was Greg McDermott's 500th as a head coach, and his 295th win ... Creighton is now 14-0 all-time at Qwest Center Omaha in games televised by NET Sports ... Doug McDermott has scored 15 or more points in seven straight games, Creighton's longest streak since Booker Woodfox had eight in a row in 2008 ... Creighton has 22 straight home wins over Valley schools it has beaten on the road earlier in the season .. Kenny Lawson Jr. moved into third in Creighton history with his 129th game played, moving out of a tie with Kyle Korver and Bob Harstad ... Creighton's +17 off second chance points was a season-best margin ... Creighton's 36 points in the paint were its most since Nov. 26 vs. Kennesaw State ... Jahenns Manigat earned his second start in as many weeks, replacing Josh Jones in the starting five.
