Creighton University
9-7, 0-3BIGEAST
DePaul
9-7, 3-0BIGEAST
Men's Basketball Unable to Overcome Early Hole, Falls to DePaul 70-60
1/7/2015 10:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. - An early 20-5 DePaul lead proved to be too large of a hill to climb as the Creighton men's basketball team dropped a 70-60 decision to the Blue Demons on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
Both teams are now 9-7 on the season. DePaul is off to its first 3-0 start in BIG EAST Conference play in program history, while Creighton is 0-3 in league action for the first time since 1993-94.
Forrest Robinson had career-highs with 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Blue Demons. Robinson was 5-for-5 from three-point range in the opening 5:12 to help stake the Blue Demons to their 20-5 lead. DePaul never trailed in the win, taking a 39-25 lead into the half.
Toby Hegner did his best to keep Creighton close in the second half, making a career-best five three-pointers to finish with a team-high 15 points. Also in double-figures was Avery Dingman, who had 10 points.
The Bluejays made a game of it early in the second half, drawing within 49-43 with 13:12 to play, only to have Robinson answer with a short jumper and Jamee Crockett a three-pointer to return the lead to double-figures.
The Jays again got within six points at 64-58 with 3:38 left after Dingman converted a pair of three-point plays in a seven-second burst. But CU would make just one of its final six attempts from the floor and DePaul made 4-of-6 foul shots to close out the road win.
DePaul shot 43.1 percent for the game (22-51), including 11-of-22 from three-point land and 15-of-20 at the foul line. DePaul won the rebound battle, 37-29, and outscored CU in the paint by a 20-12 margin.
Creighton shot 20-of-57 from the floor (35.1 percent) and drained 10-of-28 three-point attempts. Creighton's bench had a 23-14 advantage, but it wasn't enough as CU had its 11-game home win streak in conference play snapped.
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday at 1:15 pm when it hosts No. 19 Seton Hall (12-3, 2-1 BIG EAST).
NOTES: Creighton had won 25 straight regular-season home games against teams from the ACC, Big 12, BIG EAST, Pac-12 and SEC since the start of the 1996-97 season prior to today's loss ... Avery Dingman reached double-figures for the second time this season with 10 points, all in the second half ... Toby Hegner's five three-pointers tied Creighton's season-high, as Isaiah Zierden drained five trifectas on Nov. 28 vs. Ole Miss ... Rick Kreklow did not suit up due to illness, while Geoffrey Groselle also fell ill and was limited to three minutes in his second career start ... A crowd of 16,126 fans braved sub-zero temperatures in Omaha for the contest ... DePaul has made a three-pointer in 660 straight games, while Creighton has hit a trey in 696 consecutive games.
