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Young scores 24 as Drake extends streak to 18 games

Jan 31, 2008 - 7:00 AM DES MOINES, Iowa (Ticker) -- It took 22 years, but 17th-ranked Drake has finally put a number greater than 18 in the win column.

Josh Young finished with 24 points and Jonathan Cox added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Drake en route to a 75-65 win over Creighton in a Missouri Valley Conference contest on Wednesday.

Young and Cox combined to shoot 13-of-20 from the floor and 10-of-15 from the arc for the Bulldogs, who stretched their school-best winning streak to 18 games.

"It feels good," Cox said to the Des Moines Register. "It puts us a little bit farther ahead (in the conference), so we don't have to worry so much."

Drake (19-1, 10-0 MVC) has now won 19 games for the first time since finishing the 1985-86 season at 19-11.

"We've been hot right now, but it can shift," Cox said to the newspaper. "We can't look ahead yet. There's too many games left."

In a game that was billed as a battle between the younger brothers of Utah Jazz swingman Kyle Korver, Young stole the show right from the beginning. While Bulldogs' senior forward Klayton Korver managed just seven points on 2-of-7 shooting and Blue Jays' freshman guard Kaleb Korver failed to score off the bench, Young came out on fire.

The sophomore guard scored eight points in the first seven minutes to push Drake out of the gate with a 15-8 advantage. The Bulldogs took a 34-29 lead into the locker room.

Creighton (14-6, 5-5) shot just 12-of-32 (38 percent) in the opening half.

The Blue Jays chipped away in the second half, grabbing a 50-49 lead when Dane Watts hit a 3-pointer with 10:19 left to play and led 58-55 after P'Allen Stinnett connected from the arc with seven minutes left.

"I was kind of expecting to draw a little contact," Stinnett said to the newspaper. "He moved away, and (the ball) just got away from me.

"That's a good ballclub. It just came down to a couple of plays."

But Young put Drake back on top, 63-61, with a 3-pointer two minutes later.

Creighton tied the score again at 65-65, but Drake ripped off a 10-0 run to finish the contest and claim its 18th straight win.

"I kind of told the team in the locker room I'm running out of things to say," Drake coach Keno Davis told the Register. "They keep finding ways to win."

Booker Woodfox scored 19 points off the bench to lead the Blue Jays, who got just 16 points out of their starting five.

"They're a tough team to defend, because they do get you spread out," Creighton coach Dana Altman said to the newspaper. "They make plays, and they finish."