Creighton University
Northern Iowa
Men's Basketball Drops UNI, 74-50
2/5/2008 11:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Freshman P'Allen Stinnett scored 17 of his career-high 24 points in the first half as Creighton rolled to a 74-50 win over Northern Iowa on Tuesday night before a national television audience on ESPNU.
The Bluejays improved to 16-6 overall and 7-5 in the MVC with their ninth straight win over UNI. UNI dropped to 14-9 on the year (6-6 MVC) and has now lost 12 straight games in Omaha.
Creighton led 33-18 at the half and would lead by as much as 32 (61-29) with 7:39 to play.
The Bluejays trailed 3-2 early before getting baskets from four different newcomers to give the Jays an early 10-3 lead and force UNI's first timeout. After a Panther basket closed the gap to five, a Nick Bahe three-pointer keyed an 11-2 surge that also featured five points from Stinnett. Stinnett would score 13 of CU's final 17 points of the first half as the Jays took a 33-18 halftime lead.
CU got three-pointers from Josh Dotzler and Stinnett in the first 81 seconds after the break. In fact, With 16:23 left in the game both UNI and Stinnett had 22 points as CU had raced to a 43-22 lead.
Chad Millard's tip-dunk with 13:15 to play gave CU a 47-27 lead and the Jays maintained a lead of 20 or more the rest of the night. CU's largest lead came at 61-29 with 7:39 to play as Cavel Witter's three-point play capped a 12-0 run that took less than two minutes to compile. UNI would score 21 points in the final seven minutes, including four three-pointers, to draw within 74-50 by the final buzzer.
Stinnett drained 10-of-15 shots from the field to score 24 points in just 21 minutes of play. The 24 points eclipsed his previous high of 23 against DePaul and and his six rebounds were one shy of his previous best. Also in double-figures were Booker Woodfox, who hit 4-of-7 shots to score 11 points. All 14 Bluejays in uniform saw time, with 11 of them scoring. CU shot 51.9 percent from the field (28-54) and drained 9-of-16 shots from three-point range (56.3 percent), as well as hitting 9-of-11 at the line (81.8 percent). CU also outrebounded UNI, 36-27.
UNI was led by eight points from Carlton Reed and Travis Brown. Preseason all-MVC pick Eric Coleman managed a transition dunk for his only points in seven field goal attempts, though he did grab a team-best six rebounds. UNI hit just 28 percent from the field and 40 percent at the line in the first half while falling behind, and finished shooting 37.3 percent from the field and 41.7 percent at the stripe on the night. UNI also had 14 turnovers, which Creighton turned into 22 points.
Creighton returns to action against Southern Illinois on Sunday (Feb. 10) in a 6 pm game that will also be televised by ESPNU. The Jays and Salukis are currently tied for third in the MVC, one game behind Illinois State. The Creighton Athletic Department is requesting that its fans wear white to the contest.
NOTES: Freshman Kenton Walker made his first career start and had two points and two rebounds in 10 minutes ...Six different Bluejays made a three-pointer in the game ...Creighton has won its last 13 games when making 40 percent or more of its three-point attempts, 29-of-30 and 39 of its last 42 games when doing that ...Dane Watts played in 61st career game at Qwest Center Omaha, tying him with Anthony Tolliver for most in facility history ...Dane Watts scored five points and moved into sole possession of 29th on CU's all-time scoring list with 1,036 points ...Creighton will learn whether or not its March 1 game vs. Bradley is to be televised on Wednesday, a decision to be made by the MVC office.
