Men's Basketball Snaps Streak, Tops St. John's 77-74

OMAHA, Neb. -- Toby Hegner and James Milliken combined for 38 points off the bench as Creighton snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 77-74 win over St. John's on Wednesday night.

Creighton improved to 10-12 (1-8 BIG EAST), while St. John's dropped to 13-7 (2-5 BIG EAST).

Hegner finished with a career-high 21 points in his first college game as a reserve while draining four big free throws in the final 12 seconds. That gave CU a cushion that lasted when D'Angelo Harrison's game-tying three-pointer off the rim at the buzzer bounded off the rim.

Looking for its first win in 40 days, Greg McDermott shook up the starting line-up and started five seniors for the first time in his five year tenure as Creighton head coach. The Bluejays avoided a bad start that has plagued them in recent weeks, and would not trail in the game's first 11 minutes.

Harrison scored his first bucket of the game with 4:51 left in the first half, but Creighton quickly answered with a 9-0 run to take its first double-figure lead in nine conference games this season. Hegner had a pair of three-pointers during the run as part of a 4-for-4 first half from long-range.

Creighton took a 37-27 lead into the half, sinking 9-of-18 three-pointers before intermission.

St. John's started the second half quickly, scoring on four of its first five trips to close within 37-36 after a 9-0 run. The Red Storm retook the lead at 30-39 with 16:17 to play, the first of 10 second half lead changes.

St. John's took its largest lead of the night at 55-51 on a three-pointer by Jamal Branch with 9:22 to play, but CU's seniors answered. Avery Dingman hit a baseline jumper before Austin Chatman sank two foul shots to tie it. The Red Storm took its final lead with 4:21 left when Harrison hit a long three-pointer to beat the shot clock before CU took over.

Zach Hanson's tip-dunk tied the game at 62-all with 3:58 left. Milliken then sank a corner three-pointer with 3;15 to play. Harrison answered with two foul shots before Milliken made 3-of-4 free throws in the next two trips, giving CU a 68-64 lead with 2:03 remaining.

Harrison sank a three-pointer with 1:47 left, only to see Milliken answer with 1:11 left from the right corner. Phil Greene IV countered with a lay-up with 45.6 left. The Red Storm fouled Chatman, who sank two free throws with 34.9 left to return CU's lead to four.

Harrison would sink his fourth three-pointer of the game, an off-balance 25-footer, to get SJU within one. The Red Storm would foul Hegner twice down the stretch. With CU up one each time, he made 2-of-2 free throws with 12.0 seconds and 1.3 ticks left. Harrison's long three-pointer at the buzzer hit the back rim and bounded off, as CU exhaled after losing three games in the final minute during its skid.

Hegner's 21 points were four more than his previous best, while Milliken had 17 points. The duo combined for 13 of CU's final 15 points on the night. Kreklow added 10 points, while Chatman finished with 13 points and two assists to move into fifth in CU history in career assists (459). Creighton made 23-of-55 field goals on the night, while tying a season-high by making 13-of-30 three-pointers. CU also sank 18-of-21 free throws, while limiting its turnover count to 10.

St. John's was paced by 18 points from Harrison, including 13 after the break. Branch finished with 17 points off the bench, while Sir'Dominic Pointer had 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. The Red Storm played much of the game without Rysheed Jordan, the team's second leading scorer, due to injury. St. John's shot 41.5 percent from the floor, including 10-of-18 three-pointers, but were just 10-of-17 at the line.

Creighton returns to action on Saturday when it hosts No. 21 Georgetown at 1:05 pm.

NOTES: Creighton improved to 17-0 all-time when Avery Dingman makes multiple three-pointers. Dingman is one of seven Bluejays with 10 or more three-pointers this season ... Creighton snapped an 0-8 start in BIG EAST play, and its nine-game losing streak overall had tied a school record ... Creighton has won 24 straight games when scoring 70 or more points, and 94 straight at home when scoring 75 points or more ... Zach Hanson's free throw with 13:21 remaining in the second half gave Creighton 15,000 points all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha. The Bluejays are 14-1 all-time in games in which it passes a 1,000 point milestone at the facility ... Creighton has won 89 of its last 90 games in which it has led by 10 or more points at any point.

Men's Basketball Snaps Streak, Tops St. John's 77-74

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Team Stats

Toby Hegner

James Milliken

Austin Chatman

Rick Kreklow

Players Mentioned

Austin Chatman

Avery Dingman

Zach Hanson

Toby Hegner

James Milliken