Omaha, NE (Sports Network) - Grant Gibbs and Will Artino each finished with 13
points to lead the Creighton Bluejays to a 59-45 victory over the Southern
Illinois Salukis in a Missouri Valley Conference battle at CenturyLink Center
Omaha.
For the Bluejays (22-6, 11-5 MVC) Doug McDermott, the nation's second-leading
scorer (22.9 ppg), was held to just 10 points to go along with seven rebounds
in the team's second straight win.
Jeff Early led the Salukis (11-16, 4-12) with 12 points and Anthony Beane
chipped in with 10 and six boards off the bench as they had a two-game win
streak snapped.
Creighton took a 28-22 advantage into halftime after shooting 52.4 percent
from the field through the first 20 minutes of action. Though held to just
31.3 percent shooting, SIU remained close by outscoring Creighton 9-0 in
second-chance points.
In the second half the Bluejays continued to knock down their shots,
connecting on 50 percent of their field goal tries, though they missed all
four of their 3-point attempts in the period. The Salukis made 42.1 percent
of their field goals in the half, but were outscored 13-6 at the free-throw
line.
Creighton, which scored the first points of the night and never looked back,
outscored the Salukis in the paint, 34-18.
GAME NOTES:
The Sports Network