Creighton University
Drake
Men's Basketball Dominates Drake, 76-59
1/3/2012 9:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Doug McDermott celebrated his 20th birthday in style, making 9-of-12 shots to score a game-high 24 points in Creighton's 76-59 win over Drake on Tuesday. The Bluejays, ranked No. 24 in the USA Today/ESPN Top-25 Coaches poll, started the game with an 11-0 run and never trailed.
Creighton improved to 12-2 on the year and 2-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Drake dropped to 8-6 and is 1-2 in league action.
Creighton claimed an 11-0 lead in the opening minutes, making 5-of-6 shots while holding the Bulldogs to 0-of-6 marksmanship and forcing three turnovers. Grant Gibbs had five points and a blocked shot in the first five minutes for the hosts. The lead extended to 21-5 after an Avery Dingman three-point shot midway through the half, and the Jays maintained a double-figure lead the rest of the game.
Creighton's 40-25 halftime lead was keyed by 18 points from McDermott, while Antoine Young had 10 points and two assists while directing an offense that hit 61.9 percent of its shots. Ben Simons led DU with seven points at the break as the 'Dogs shot just 33.3 percent from the field.
Creighton's lead never dipped below 14 after the break, reaching as large as 23 on two occasions in the final four minutes. Gregory Echenique, held without a point or rebound in the first half, came on strong and had 10 points and five rebounds after intermission, including two of his four blocked shots.
McDermott led CU with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Young had 18 points. The Jays shot an even 60 percent from the floor and were 45.5 percent from three-point range. CU owned the glass, 34-27, and outscored the Bulldogs in the paint by a 42-24 margin.
Drake was led by 17 point from Simons. Rayvonte Rice, who entered the night third in the league with 18.3 points per game, was held to six points on 2-of-10 shooting, though he did have five steals. Drake shot 36.8 percent for the night and made 5-of-19 three-point shots. The Bulldogs did finish with 14 steals while forcing Creighton into a season-high 20 turnovers.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday when it visits Bradley in a 7:05 pm start.
NOTES: This was the 148th all-time meeting, most for any Creighton opponent, but first in 26 meetings dating to 1999 that did not involve a member of the Korver family ...Doug McDermott has scored in double-figures in 15 straight games, CU's longest streak since Nate Funk's 24 in a row from Dec. 23, 2006 - March 17, 2007 ... Doug McDermott's streak of 14 straight games in double-figures to start the season is CU's longest since Bob Harstad opened 1990-91 with 27 games in a row with 10 or more points ...Doug McDermott's streak of 14 straight games with a three-pointer was snapped. He did not attempt a trey in the game ...At night's end, Creighton is tied for the most wins nationally against both MVC competition (2, tied with Missouri State, Evansville, Saint Mary's and Boise State) as well as Big Ten competition (3, tied with Michigan State) ... Creighton has won 86 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more ...Doug McDermott owns 20 or more points in 14 of his last 20 games and upped his scoring average to 23.9 points per game ...Creighton has led wire-to-wire in four home games this season and 33 times overall in 145 all-time games at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
