Creighton University
Mississippi Valley State
Watts Scores 26 As Men's Basketball Tops Delta Devils
11/17/2007 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Dane Watts had a career-high 26 points to lead Creighton to a 76-46 win over defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Mississippi Valley State. The Bluejays trailed for just 12 seconds while helping head coach Dana Altman improve to 24-0 at Creighton in November home games.
Creighton (2-0) led 36-22 at the half and led by nine or more the duration of the second half. After MVSU's Carl Lucas drained a trey to trim Creighton's lead to 48-39 with 9:04 to go, the Jays went on a 12-0 run thanks to a three-pointers by Chad Millard and Kaleb Korver and three-point plays from Josh Dotzler and Watts. That spurt keyed a 28-7 game-ending run by the hosts.
The Bluejays shot 52.6 percent from the field and doubled up the smaller Delta Devils on the boards by a 40-20 differential.
In addition to 26 points from Watts, P'Allen Stinnett had nine points, six assists and two steals in 25 turnover-free minutes. Millard scored eight points, including a pair of treys as well for CU. Creighton's bench outscored MVSU 37-24 on the night.
MVSU (0-3) was led by 17 points from Carl Lucas. The Delta Devils, best known as being the alma mater of NFL great Jerry Rice, shot just 34.9 percent from the floor and were dominated 46-14 in the paint.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday at 1:05 pm with a game against in-state rival Nebraska. The game will be televised on KMTV and broadcast on radio on KXSP (Big Sports 590 AM).
NOTES: Creighton freshman Kenton Walker grabbed seven rebounds in just five minutes of play. He also scored two points and had CU's only blocked shot ...Walk-on Dustin Sitzman, a fan favorite, made a pair of baskets to finish with a career-high four points. His final score, an offensive putback, solicited a loud ovation as it earned the fans free "Godfather's Pizza" whenever the Jays score 75 points or more at home ...The crowd of 16,730 was Creighton's fifth-largest home crowd in school history ...Dane Watts' previous career-high had been a 21-point effort last season vs. Houston.
