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McDermott, Bluejays scorch Sun Devils

Nov 29, 2013 - 6:59 AM Fullerton, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Doug McDermott strengthened his early- season case for National Player of the Year by thoroughly outplaying fellow candidate Jahii Carson in No. 20 Creighton's 88-60 win over Arizona State in the opening round of the Wooden Legacy on Thanksgiving night.

McDermott, a two-time All-American, dropped 27 points and made all 10 of his free throws in the rout. He has reached at least 20 points in all five games this season.

Devin Brooks added 23 points off the bench on 9-for-11 shooting for Creighton (5-0), which will face San Diego State in the semifinals on Friday.

Carson paced the Sun Devils (6-1) with 15 points but turned the ball over five times compared to just four assists. Jermaine Marshall and Richie Edwards chipped in 12 points apiece.

"Obviously we were outplayed in every facet of the game," ASU head coach Herb Sendek admitted. "I thought Creighton was very good as we expected they would be. As for us, we're very disappointed in our performance."

McDermott had faced double teams almost exclusively since his breakout sophomore year, but Arizona State opted to play him straight up to start the contest. The senior took advantage, netting 12 of Creighton's first 20 points. The Bluejays started the game 10-of-14 shooting and led 24-9 at the second media timeout.

"We were clicking on all cylinders and the start we got off to definitely carried the way the rest of the game," McDermott said.

The offensive onslaught continued as McDermott went to the bench for a rest, as Grant Gibbs finished consecutive layups plus a foul shot for Creighton.

Edwards and Marshall drilled consecutive 3-pointers to cut the Sun Devils' deficit to 30-24, but late in the period, Isaiah Zierden's four-point play put Creighton up by 13. Brooks' free throw made it 45-31 at the break.

Jahenns Manigat opened the second half with a trey from the right wing and capped a 7-0 charge with a reverse layup as Creighton built a comfortable 21- point cushion.

McDermott's putback at the 13:02 mark of the second half summed up the contest for Creighton. The star drove baseline on Jordan Bachynski and his reverse dunk was stuffed at the rim by the 7-foot-2 center. However, the rebound caromed right back to McDermott for an easy layup.

Arizona State made a series of pushes in the second half, including 10-0 and 7-0 runs, to close the gap, but the Bluejays had an answer for every one of them and held a double-digit lead throughout.

Game Notes

Creighton shot 53.4 percent from the floor and 12-of-25 from 3-point range while Arizona State hit at a pedestrian 37.9 percent clip from the field and 7-of-26 from behind the arc ... Creighton's bench outscored their counterparts, 35-24 ... Marquette will meet George Washington in the other semifinal.