PEORIA, Ill. -- Reversing a recent trend for Bradley at home, visiting Creighton (15-7, 9-3) hit the Braves (15-9, 6-6) with big runs to open each half, then held off its host for an 82-71 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball victory Wednesday night at Carver Arena.
Senior guard Nate Funk and junior forward Dane Watts shared game-high scoring honors with 18 points as all five Creighton starters scored in double-figures for the first time in eight seasons. Guards Isacc Miles and Nick Porter both contributed 15 points and senior center Anthony Tolliver turned in a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Junior point guard Daniel Ruffin led three Bradley players in double figures with 17 points. Junior forward Matt Salley added 15 and junior guard Jeremy Crouch, playing his first home game of the calendar year after missing eight games with a sprained knee, scored 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range.
After Bradley scored the game's first two points on a pair of Zach Andrews free throws, Creighton roared ahead with a 24-4 burst to take the first of their two 18-point leads in the first half. Bradley, which did not score its first field goal until Crouch banked in a 3-pointer with 14:54 left in the half, was able to close a 30-12 deficit to 38-28 when Crouch nailed another trey with 37.4 seconds left in the half. Funk closed the half with two free throws to give the Bluejays a 40-28 lead at the break.
Bradley was unable to maintain its momentum to start the second half, however, and Creighton again started quick, scoring the first five points of the second period on a Watts 3-pointer and two Tolliver free throws. The Bluejays built their lead to a game-high 19 points, 56-37, on a Watts 3-point play with 16:38 remaining.
Bradley did not go down without a fight, however, closing to within 11 points on five occassions between 12:29 and 5:48. The Braves twice had the ball with a chance to get the lead into single digits during that time, but Franklin missed a 3-point try on one possession and Ruffin turned it over on another. After Crouch buried his fourth 3-pointer to pull the Braves within 71-60, the Braves finally got the deficit into single digits when Ruffin scored on a jumper with 3:52 left. Franklin had a chance to cut the deficit down to six when he got a wide-open look from behind the arc, but his shot was off. Porter delivered the dagger for Creighton when he answered Franklin's miss with a corner trey with 2:50 left to push the Bluejay lead back to 74-62.
Creighton, which made 31-of-40 (.775) free throw attempts in the game, sank 8-of-10 in the final 2:38 to maintain a safe lead down the stretch. The Bluejays made only 9-of-19 field goal attempts in the second half, but those numbers matched Bradley's free throw shooting for the game. The Braves made only 4-of-12 free throw attempts in the second half, further hampering their ability to climb back into the game.
Bradley entered the game with The Valley's best home record (24-2) since the start of the 2005-06 season, but now the Braves will have to try to regain their momentum on the road, where they will play four of their next five games. Bradley will visit Interstate 74 rival Illinois State Saturday night in the rematch of last week's 88-67 victory at Carver Arena, then will head to Carbondale for the return game against Southern Illinois. The Braves pulled out a 48-46 victory against the Salukis Jan. 10 when Franklin banked in the winning shot with five-tenths of a second remaining.
