Dec. 28, 2011
Final Stats
Final Stats (PDF) I Season Stats
OMAHA, Neb. -- Missouri State (8-5, 1-0) got a career-high 31 points from the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Kyle Weems and topped No. 19 Creighton (10-2, 0-1) here Wednesday in the MVC opener for both clubs.
Anthony Downing, who was 11-for-14 from the field, also contributed a career-best 26 for the Bears. It was MSU's sixth straight win over Creighton and the club's first-ever road win against a ranked opponent.
Doug McDermott posted 19 points and 12 rebounds for CU, which was also ranked No. 21 in this week's AP poll.
The game featured four ties and eight lead changes, but it was a driving layup by Michael Bizoukas with 6:16 to go that gave the Bears the lead for good. From there, Weems knocked down a leaner and a three-pointer over the span of the next minute to push the visitors' lead to 64-57.
The Bluejays battled back within three after a trey by Josh Jones, his third of the night, and a free throw by McDermott made it 66-63 with 2:18 on the clock.
But the Bears were game down the stretch, and Jarmar Gulley finished at the rim 17 seconds later to push the lead back to five, and Downing's fourth three-pointer of the night with 1:10 remaining proved to be the dagger. Weems went 6-for-6 at the line in the final 43 seconds, and the defending MVC champions ended a brief two-game losing streak in style with a solid start to conference play.
Gulley added 12 points for MSU, which shot 55 percent in the second half and finished 29-for-60 (.483) for the game. The Bears were 7-for-17 (.412) from bonus distance -- with six threes in the second half -- and were a sensational 12-for-14 (.857) from the charity stripe.
The Bears were out-rebounded by a 35-34 margin for the game, but got 20 of the 36 caroms in the second stanza. MSU also turned the ball over just seven times and collected 9 steals.
The crowd of 17,665 at the CenturyTel Center -- the third-largest in Creighton history -- saw the home team's 16-game win streak at the facility stopped.
Creighton was 21-for-55 (.382) from the field and 9-of-21 (.429) from beyond the arc. The Jays were 6-of-8 from long range in the first half, but made just 3-of-13 in the second period. CU was 14-for-20 (.700) at the line with 12 turnovers.
Antoine Young scored 13 for Creighton, while Jones added 11.
The Bears jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the first five-and-a-half minutes as Downing reeled off nine points in that span to set the pace.
Creighton responded with four treys in the span of two-and-a-half minutes after the under-12 media timeout to climb ahead 20-16. Creighton continued the pressure with a bucket by Young and a dunk by Gregory Echenique that ultimately prompted a timeout by the Bears with a 24-16 deficit and 8:19 to play in the first half.
However, from there, Gulley stormed the Bears back with a traditional three-point play, to cut the Bluejays lead to five.
In the final four minutes of the first half, MSU used four steals to climb back within two at the break as Gulley, Downing, Bizoukas and Weems all scored in transition down the stretch to cut Creighton's lead to 34-32 at the intermission.
The Bears will continue league play on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Drake (8-4, 1-0). Tickets are available at www.MissouriStateTix.com, by calling (417) 836-7678 or at the Chevy Pickup Window at JQH Arena during ticket office hours this week.
