PEORIA, Ill. ? Creighton guards Cavel Witter and Antoine Young provided a needed lift off the bench by scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively, sparking the Bluejays (13-4, 3-2 MVC) to a 73-64 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball victory Saturday night at Bradley (10-6, 4-1 MVC). The loss snaps Bradley's season-best five-game winning streak and dropped the Braves out of sole possession of first place in The Valley standings and into a tie with Northern Iowa (10-6, 4-1).
Bradley junior guard Dodie Dunson also provided some firepower off the bench by scoring a game-high 16 points. Senior forward Theron Wilson and sophomore guard Sam Maniscalco both scored 15 points and freshman guard Eddren McCain added 12 points and a game-high six assists. Creighton guard P'Allen Stinnett scored nine of his 12 points in the final 4:56 and center Kenny Lawson, Jr. completed the double-digit scoring with 10 points, while adding a team-high eight rebounds.
Bradley had not allowed any of its first four Valley opponents to score more than 63 points and entered the game leading the league in both scoring defense (57.5 points allowed per game) and field goal percentage defense (.363). Creighton put 73 points on the board by shooting 48.9 percent (23-47) from the field, including an 8-for-17 (.471) effort from 3-point range, and knocking down 19-of-23 (.826) free throw attempts. The Braves, who are 10-0 when holding the opposition to fewer than 70 points, fell to 0-6 when surrendering at least 70.
Trailing 27-17 after a Witter bucket in the paint with 4:46 left in the first half, Bradley closed the period on a 9-0 run, thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Maniscalco and a third trey by Dunson with 23 seconds left. The Braves extended the run to 13 consecutive points when McCain opened the second half by scoring a layup and Wilson followed with a slam off an inbounds play for a 30-27 Bradley lead. But Kaleb Korver ended the run with a game-tying 3-pointer and Justin Carter gave the Bluejays the lead for good, 31-30, by making 1-of-2 free throws with 16:55 remaining.
Although unable to reclaim the lead, Bradley did not let the Bluejays get much distance and still trailed just 49-46 when McCain scored on a reverse layup with 5:45 left. But Creighton reserve forward Kenton Walker scored inside for a 51-46 lead and Stinnett, who had missed nine consecutive field goal attempts since scoring the game's opening points on a 3-pointer, scored the next five to give Creighton a 56-46 lead with 4:34 remaining.
Bradley got no closer than six points the rest of the way as the Bluejays protected their lead down the stretch by making 8-of-10 free throw attempts in the final 1:09.
After splitting a two-game home stand against previously unbeaten Illinois State and the Valley preseason favorite Bluejays, Bradley will hit the road for its next three games, beginning with a Tuesday night visit to Indiana State (4-12, 2-3 MVC), which dealt Illinois State a second straight loss Saturday night in Terre Haute. Tuesday night's game will tip off at 6:05 p.m. (CST) from the Hulman Center and will be shown in the Peoria area by Comcast (74) and Mediacom (78).
Bradley's next home game also will be against Indiana State, Jan. 24 when the Sycamores visit for a 6:05 p.m. game that will feature a special “Throwback” promotion. The Braves will wear 1985-86 replica jerseys and everyone in attendance will receive a free t-shirt featuring a similar design. The 1985-86 Braves produced a 32-3 overall record and remain the last team to complete an undefeated (16-0) Valley season.
