Creighton University
Evansville
Men's Hoops Trumps Evansville in 89-84 Barnburner
2/17/2009 9:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Cavel Witter and Antoine Young both scored 15 points off the bench to lead five players in double-figures as Creighton defeated visiting Evansville, 89-84, before 16,697 fans at Qwest Center Omaha on Tuesday night. The win was Creighton's seventh straight and moved it within one-half game of league-leading UNI (12-3 MVC).
The game featured seven ties and 13 lead changes.
Jason Holsinger led Evansville (15-11, 7-9 MVC) with 30 points while Shy Ely was just behind with 26 points. Ely missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 11 seconds left that could have tied it. CU's Justin Carter secured the rebound and called timeout while falling to the ground. The Jays then put the game away on a breakaway dunk from Young with two seconds left, capping CU's highest-scoring output of the season.
Witter carried CU down the stretch, scoring nine straight points in the final four minutes before Young's game-clinching dunk. Creighton saw its 80-73 lead dwindle thanks in part to a four-point play from Holsinger. The Purple Aces got as close as one point (85-84) with 21 seconds left on two Ely free throws before two shots at the stripe from Witter gave CU a three-point lead and 17 seconds left. That set up Ely's open look from the corner that rimmed long and was grabbed by Carter.
The Valley's career active scoring leader, Holsinger had 20 of his 30 points after intermission while making 5-of-6 shots from the field. The 2008-09 Valley scoring leader, Ely tied his season high with 26 points, including 13 after intermission. The Purple Aces shot over 50 percent for a third straight game, but have lost all three games. UE shot 50.8 percent overall, 41.7 percent from three-point range and 86.4 percent from the line. The Aces also owned a 37-32 rebounding lead.
In addition to Young and Witter's 15 points, Booker Woodfox had 13, P'Allen Stinnett had 11 and Kenny Lawson Jr. chipped in with 10 points for Creighton (22-6, 12-4 MVC). CU shot 45.2 percent for the game but were aided by a 11-for-24 display (45.8 percent) from downtown. CU also iced the game at the line, hitting 22-of-27 from the line (81.5 percent).
Creighton had just one turnover in the final 26 minutes and tied a season-low with seven miscues for the night.
Creighton remains home this week when it hosts George Mason on Saturday at 8:30 pm as part of the ESPNU BracketBusters event. That game will be televised by ESPNU and can be heard on KXSP (Big Sports 590 AM).
NOTES: Creighton's 89 points were a season-high, two more than the 87 it scored in a win over Oral Roberts ...Cavel Witter's 15 points marked the 11th time this season he's scored in double-figures off the bench and were his most in a game since scoring 15 on Dec. 15 vs. Southern University ...Creighton has won 67 straight games when scoring 80 or more points, 61 straight when scoring 72 or more points and 50 straight when scoring 68 or more points at home ...Booker Woodfox has hit a three-pointer in 24 straight games ...Creighton has made five or more three-pointers in 27 straight games and four or more three-pointers in 61 consecutive games ...Creighton has won seven straight games, scoring 40 or more second half points in each contest ...Creighton has placed five players in double-figures in three straight games ...The seven-game win streak is tied for eighth-longest nationally ...Creighton's 43 bench points were its most in MVC play this season ...Creighton has beaten Evansville in Omaha each of the past 10 seasons ...Creighton's Booker Woodfox went 3-for-3 from three-point territory, moving his nation-best mark to 50 percent from downtown ...Antoine Young started 0-for-7 from the floor before making 6-of-7 to finish the game, scoring all 15 of his career-high points after intermission.
