Creighton University
Evansville
Men's Basketball Falls at Evansville
2/7/2012 9:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- A game-ending 13-1 run helped Evansville upset No. 17 Creighton, 65-57, on Tuesday night at Ford Center.
Evansville improved to 12-12 and is 7-7 in Valley play, while Creighton fell to 21-4 and is 11-3 in MVC action.
Evansville took advantage of a cold-starting Creighton team, then scored on seven straight trips, to take an early 29-19 lead on the Bluejays. The Jays had eight turnovers and started 0-for-8 from three-point range in the first 12 minutes. Helping to spur UE's early lead was the first two three-pointers of the season from Lewis Jones, who had entered the game 0-for-11 from deep.
But Creighton made a comeback in the final four minutes of the frame, closing the half on a 12-4 run to get within 33-31 at the break. Doug McDermott had five points in the flurry, which was capped by a three-point play from freshman guard Austin Chatman.
Creighton showed an emphasis on feeding the post to begin the second half, and it paid off. After two straight scores by Gregory Echenique, a McDermott bank shot from the right wing gave CU its first lead at 39-37 with 17:00 to play.
After McDermott sank three straight free throws, Chatman would drain a corner three-pointer to put CU up 48-41 at the 12:47 mark. UE used a 9-2 run to tie the score at 50 before Antoine Young quieted the crowd with a reverse lay-up at the eight-minute mark. After getting a defensive stand, the Aces got a lay-up in transition from freshman Ryan Sawvell to tie the game at 52 with 7:04 to go.
The Jays answered UE's charge with one of their own. Antoine Young drilled a 18-foot jumper to get the lead, and Grant Gibbs then found McDermott in transition to make it a four-point advantage. The score gave McDermott 582 points on the season, the most points in school history by a sophomore. UE returned the favor with a 8-0 run, as Sawvell hit two foul shots, Kenny Harris scored, and Colt Ryan nabbed his first bucket of the half to put UE up 58-56 with 2:59 to play. After a CU miss, Kenny Harris pushed UE's lead to four on a bucket.
Creighton had a chance to slice the lead in half but missed three of its next four free throws and were still down 60-57 when Evansville's Colt Ryan sank two fouls shots with 26.1 left and CU missed two opportunities to cut into UE's five-point lead. The Jays would not score again.
McDermott led Creighton with 21 points while tying Echenique for team-high honors with eight rebounds. Echenique had 10 points, while Chatman had 11 points. Creighto shot 40.4 percent on the night but the nation's top three-point shooting made a season-low 18.2 percent (4-22) from downtown.
Evansville was led by 15 points from Kenny Harris, while Ryan had 14 points. UE shot 43.1 percent for the game and 37.5 percent from downtown.
Creighton returns home on Saturday for a nationally-televised showdown with Wichita State. The game will air on ESPN2 and tip at 4 pm.NOTES: This was Creighton's first trip to Ford Center, which replaced Roberts Stadium as the home of the Purple Aces ... Doug McDermott has scored in double-figures in 26 straight games ...Creighton has suffered consecutive losses for the first time all season ...Creighton had a six-game win streak vs. Evansville snapped ...Doug McDermott, who last year set a school and MVC record for points by a freshman with 581, set a Creighton record for points by a sophomore tonight. He owns 582, passing Rodney Buford's 581 from 1996-97.
