• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

No. 15 Creighton tops Bradley for 10th straight win

Jan 29, 2012 - 6:20 AM Omaha, NE (Sports Network) - Doug McDermott finished with a game-high 24 points and pulled down six rebounds as No. 15 Creighton topped Bradley, 73-59, on Saturday.

Gregory Echenique recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Jones contributed 14 points and four assists for the Bluejays (20-2, 10-1 MVC), who extended their winning streak to 10 games despite not playing their "best basketball," according to head coach Greg McDermott.

"We're happy to get the win," said McDermott. "I thought they forced us into hurrying on the offensive end of the floor. That led to a lot of turnovers."

Dyricus Simms-Edwards paced the Braves (6-17, 1-10) with 19 points and six rebounds, while Taylor Brown donated 16 points and seven rebounds in a losing effort. Bradley has lost four straight games.

Bradley jumped out to a quick 11-5 lead, capped by a Simms-Edwards three- pointer, but the Bluejays quickly responded with a 9-0 run to go ahead, 14-11 with under 12 minutes to play in the opening half.

A trey by Grant Gibbs with 4 1/2 minutes left in the opening 20 minutes put Creighton up 29-19 and a layup by Echenique gave the Bluejays their largest lead of the half at 33-21 with 2:29 left.

Bradley fought back though, closing out the opening half with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 33-28 at the break.

Creighton opened the second half with an 11-4 push, capped by a Jones trey, to open up a 44-32 lead with 14:38 left in regulation.

The Braves again fought back with a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to three with 10 minutes left, but Creighton answered with a quick 8-0 burst to go ahead 56-45 with 8:21 to play.

The Bluejays led by double-digits the rest of the way, and a free throw by Gibbs with 1:35 left put them up 69-54 -- their largest margin of the game -- en route to the win.

Game Notes

Creighton owns a narrow 44-41 lead in the all-time series with Bradley, and the Bluejays topped the Braves in the first meeting this season, 92-83, on January 7...Bradley fell to 0-12 this season when allowing at least 70 points...Creighton shot 54 percent from the floor and 8-of-20 from three-point range, while Bradley shot 39 percent from the field and 6-of-17 from beyond the arc...The Bluejays have now won 20 or more games for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons.