Creighton University
Drake
Men's Basketball Outlasts Drake, 77-69
1/25/2012 9:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Doug McDermott led the charge with 30 points as the No. 15 Creighton men's basketball team improved to 19-2 on the season, 9-1 in the MVC with a 77-69 win over Drake on Wednesday. McDermott scored 12 of Creighton's final 16 points, ensuring the Bluejays would pick up their ninth win in a row.
Creighton took the early lead with a McDermott three-pointer and held the lead until the 9:55 mark in the opening half. Creighton built its lead to as many as six in the opening 10 minutes of play before Drake used a Ben Simons jumper to get their only lead of the game at 18-17.
Creighton then went on an 8-0 run, using back-to-back three pointers from Antoine Young and Jahenns Manigat to extend their lead to 26-17 with 7:03 remaining in the opening half.
Creighton led by as many as 15 points in the opening half, using a 21-5 run to take a 37-22 lead with 2:16 left in the opening frame. McDermott led all scorers in the opening half, scoring 13 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Gregory Echenique and Manigat had six points each for the Bluejays in the first half.
The Bulldogs opened the half on an 18-9 run pulling the game to 46-44 with 13:23 left to play. Drake capitalized on four Bluejay turnovers in that timespan, holding the Bluejays to no field goals in over two minutes of play (15:16-13:06).
Drake's two point deficit would the the closest the Bulldogs would come in the second half, as Creighton pulled away thanks to strong free-throw shooting and clutch shooting from beyond the arc. McDermott made an old-fashioned three-point play and Echenique connected on a pair of throws to give Creighton the 51-46 lead with 11:20 to play.
Creighton played a majority of the final portion of the second half without Echenique in the lineup, as he picked up his fourth foul with 10:40 remaining in the game. Redshirt freshman Will Artino picked up where Echenique left off, however, pulling down six rebounds and scoring a bucket inside for the Jays in the second half. Artino also dished off a pair of assists for the Bluejays in the half.
Manigat provided an offensive spark through the middle of the second half, draining a trio of three-pointers to extend Creighton's lead again to 10 points, 61-51 with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.
Drake would not quit, pulling the game back within four points at 63-59 with four and a half minutes to play. Missed opportunities on Creighton's end offensively turned into Bulldog points, closing in on the Jays thanks to a pair of jumpers and two free-throws each from Rayvonte Rice and Kurt Alexander.
But it would again be McDermott taking over the game, hitting four free-throws in a row to cap off a stretch in which the sophomore scored 10 straight points for the Jays, giving Creighton the 71-65 lead with two and a half minutes to play. McDermott scored 12 of Creighton's final 16 points.
Creighton finished the night shooting 50-percent from the field, led by McDermott who led all scorers with 30 points. Manigat had 15 points for the Bluejays, while Echenique added 11. McDermott also led the Jays in rebounding, with nine, while Artino had eight as Creighton held the 37-25 advantage in boards.
Creighton will host the next two games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, beginning Saturday night at 7 pm vs. Bradley. The first 12,000 fans will receive a pink t-shirt as part of the program's Creighton vs. Cancer campaign, and the team will wear pink shoes and uniforms.
NOTES: Creighton is 8-1 on the road for the first time in program history ...Creighton has won six straight road games for the first time since 1975 ...This is the first time Creighton has started 5-0 in conference road games since 1942-43 ...Creighton is 19-2 for the third time ever (also 1921-22 and 2002-03) ...Creighton is 9-1 in the MVC for the fifth time ever and first time since the 2002-03 club ...Creighton improved to 9-1 against teams it lost to last season ...Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 571 straight games ...Doug McDermott has scored in double-figures in 23 straight games and is one of three players nationally with 12 points or more in every game this season ...Doug McDermott now has 15 games of 20 points or more this season ...Drake's crowd of 6,110 was a season-high at home for the Bulldogs, the eighth opponent in nine road games to set a season-high against the Jays ...Jahenns Manigat had five three-pointers for Creighton. The Jays are now 10-1 in his career when he hits three or more shots from downtown.
