• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Drake hands Creighton second straight loss

Jan 24, 2013 - 5:57 AM Des Moines, IA (Sports Network) - Richard Carter scored a game-high 20 points to go with seven rebounds to lead Drake to a 74-69 win over No. 17 Creighton at Knapp Center.

Ben Simons added 13 points and Daddy Ugbede scored 12 points for the Bulldogs (9-10, 3-5 MVC), winners in three of their last four overall.

"I'm extremely proud of our team, and they showed great resiliency and toughness to pull off this win tonight at home," said Drake head coach Mark Phelps.

Doug McDermott poured in a team-high 19 points, but scored just two points in the second half for the Bluejays (17-3, 6-2 MVC), who have dropped two consecutive games for the first time since losing three straight in February last season.

"We're disappointed. We expect to win every game you play," said Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. "We as a coaching staff need to do a better job of getting our team to understand how much one possession can mean. Because essentially we lost two one-possession games."

Grant Gibbs scored 18 points and Austin Chatman scored 10 in the setback.

Gibbs' 3-point play made it 71-69 with just over 30 seconds remaining, but Drake went 3-for-4 from the free throw line down the stretch and held Creighton scoreless to secure its first win over a ranked opponent in five years.

The Bluejays had a chance to tie the game after a steal by Will Artino, but Gibbs missed a layup with 12 seconds left. Simons then made a pair from the charity stripe with 0.5 seconds left.

The Bluejays opened the game with a 12-5 run, but the Bulldogs countered with a 9-2 swing to tie the game at 14-14.

A McDermott layup at the 9:22 mark gave Creighton a 20-16 advantage.

Drake, though, scored the next nine points to open up a 25-20 lead. Ugbede got things started with a 3-point play and Carter canned a pair of treys on the run.

Gregory Echenique's layup with 3:17 left in the first half pulled Creighton within 32-28, but Drake closed the half on a 12-0 surge to take a 44-28 lead into the break.

The Bluejays used a 21-7 run in the early stages of the second half to cut the deficit to 51-49.

Creighton eventually regained the lead at 62-61 following McDermott's layup with a little over seven minutes remaining, but a 10-4 run gave the Bulldogs the lead for good.

Game Notes

Drake's bench outscored Creighton's reserves, 43-14 ... Creighton owns a 93-59 lead in the all-time series ... This was Drake's first win over a ranked opponent since a 71-64 win over No. 8 Butler on Feb. 23, 2008.