Creighton University
UCF
Men's Basketball Advances To CBI Final With 82-64 Rout of UCF
3/23/2011 9:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton scored the game's first 10 points and never looked back, defeating UCF by an 82-64 margin on Wednesday night. The Jays had five men in double-figures, and point guard Antoine Young had Creighton's first point-assist double-double since 2002 in the triumph.
With the win, Creighton (22-14) advances to the College Basketball Invitational's unique best-of-three championship series. The Bluejays will play game one against Oregon on Monday in a 7:05 pm tip from Qwest Center Omaha. UCF has its season end with a 21-12 mark.
Creighton took a 10-0 lead to start the game. UCF opened with consecutive turnovers, and Creighton's Doug McDermott made them pay each time with a three-point basket to prompt a UCF timeout. Creighton's lead reached as large as 15-2 before a 7-0 burst by the Knights narrowed the gap.
Creighton led 44-23 at the half, thanks to a 20-2 advantage in points off turnovers. The Jays forced 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, while owning just four themself. Young led Creighton with 12 points and six assists at the break, while McDermott had 10 points. UCF was paced by 10 points from Isaiah Sykes at intermission.
UCF would not get any closer than 17 points (56-39) in the second half. The Jays led 82-52 before UCF scored the final 12 points.
Gregory Echenique led Creighton with 19 points, his high in a Creighton uniform. McDermott had 16, as did Young, who also added a game-high 10 assists. Scoring 11 points each were Bluejay reserves Kenny Lawson Jr. and Josh Jones. CU shot 57.7 percent for the game and were 15-of-19 from the line (78.9 percent).
UCF was paced by 26 points by Keith Clanton, while A.J. Rompza and Sykes each had 12. UCF's top scorer, Marcus Jordan, was held to nine points. The Knights shot 48.9 percent for the game, but had 19 turnovers that Creighton converted into 25 points.
NOTES: This was the first-ever meeting between Creighton and UCF ... Creighton's Doug McDermott joined some elite company when he grabbed his first rebound tonight. He joins Kevin Durant (at Texas in 2006-07) and Carmelo Anthony (at Syracuse in 2002-03) as the only freshmen nationally to have at least 525 points, 270 rebounds and 40 three-pointers since 2001-02 ... This was Creighton's 36th game of the season and 21st at home. Both are school records ... Creighton, which scored 102 points on Monday vs. Davidson, has not scored 100 points in consecutive games since 1966 ... Tonight's win was Creighton's 18th home win of the year, a program record ... This was Creighton's ninth straight home win ... This is the first time in 30 postseason appearances that Creighton has won three postseason games in the same season ... This is Creighton's first three-game win streak since a six-game win streak from Dec. 11-Jan. 1 earlier this year ... Creighton's last point-assist double-double was by Tyler McKinney in 2002 vs. Nebraska ... Young now owns 27 assists and no turnovers in three CBI games ... His 10 assists were a career-best and tied the CU record at Qwest Center Omaha ... Creighton is now 20-30 all-time in the postseason, including a 3-0 mark in the CBI ... Home teams are now 12-1 in the CBI this year ... Creighton has won 78 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more ... This will be the fourth straight year an MVC team will be competing for a national title in the postseason. Bradley competed for one in 2008 (CBI) and 2009 (CIT), while Missouri State won the 2010 CIT ... Creighton now owns 250 wins in the last 11 years, 20 more than any other Valley school ... Kenny Lawson Jr. scored Creighton's 77th & 78th point on a jumper with five minutes to play, the 10,000th point in Creighton's Qwest Center Omaha history. CU has played in 136 games at the facility ... Creghton had 23 assists on 30 baskets and owns a 62/30 assist/turnover ratio in three CBI games.
