OMAHA, NEB. -- Sophomore guard Josh Young, making his first appearance in four games, hit a three-point basket with 2:44 left in overtime that gave No. 22 ranked Drake a lead it would never relinquish as the Bulldogs posted their 16th straight victory with a 68-60 Missouri Valley Conference decision past Creighton Tuesday night.

Drake, celebrating its first national ranking in 33 years, improved its record to 17-1 which is the best start in school history, while equaling its entire victory output of last season (17-15).

The 16-game winning streak equals the fifth longest winning streak by a Missouri Valley Conference school also held by Southern Illinois in 2003-04).

The 16-game winning streak also is the third longest active streak in NCAA basketball, trailing 18 by Kansas and 17 by Memphis.

After Young's three-point basket gave Drake a 57-54 lead, senior guard Leonard Houston followed with a rebound jumper to extend the advantage to 59-54 with 2:09 remaining.

"We struggled the early part of overtime, so I knew someone was going to have to hit a shot, and I wanted to be that person," Young said. "They got me open on a reversal, and I stepped up and made it."

Drake would not make a basket the remainder of the game, but the Bulldogs sealed the game by making nine of 10 free throws.

Drake snapped a six-game losing streak to Creighton, while earning its first victory in Omaha since a 75-73 win Feb. 25, 2002.

Creighton, which had a six-game winning streak snapped, fell to 14-4, including a 5-3 league mark.

It marked the first time since the 1969-70 season that Drake has opened the MVC campaign with an 8-0 record. The 1969-70 team enjoyed a 9-0 league start en route to winning the MVC title with a 14-2 mark.

It also marked the first time Drake has won eight MVC games since the Bulldogs posted a 9-9 league mark in 2001-02.

Senior guard Klayton Korver led Drake with 14 points, hitting four three-point baskets.

Drake senior guard Adam Emmenecker, the reigning MVC player of the week, played a brilliant floor game with 12 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals.

There were 10 lead changes over the final 12:42 of regulation.

Trailing 54-52, Emmenecker drove the lane and missed a running layup from the right side, but Houston got the rebound hitting a short jumper to tie the game at 54-54 with 23 seconds left.

Creighton worked for the last shot but Chad Millard missed a three-point basket from the right baseline with 1.3 seconds left and Houston got the rebound, sending the game into overtime.

Young, the leading scorer in the MVC with a 16.3 average, had missed Drake's last three games because of a sprained right ankle. He came off the bench just 2 minutes six seconds into the contest, draining a three-point basket on his second shot.

He played 25 minutes, collecting eight points, three rebounds and two assists.

First-year Drake coach Keno Davis said the decision to play Young came at tipoff. Young played 25 minutes.

"It was an inspired return," Davis said. "He was fighting to get on the court the other three games. He just wanted in. He realized he wasn't physically able to go. We were hopeful that we could get a few minutes from him. And he came up big for us."

Drake's matchup zone defense held Creighton to 34.5 percent shooting from the floor.

The Bluejays made only one of 10 shots in the overtime.

The Bulldogs return home Saturday facing instate rival Northern Iowa in a 5 p.m. tip off before tangling with Creighton Jan.30 in the Drake Knapp Center.

'DOG TAGS: The overtime game continued a streak in the Drake-Creighton series in which at least one game has gone to overtime in an even numbered year dating back to 2000. Drake won a 74-70 overtime home game Feb. 1, 2000. Creighton claimed a 95-91 overtime win in Des Moines, Feb. 13, 2000, while Drake won a double-overtime home decision, 78-73, Feb. 14, 2004. Creighton earned an overtime win, 72-67, in Des Moines, Feb. 4, 20006.

The 17 wins by coach Keno Davis are the third most by any first-year coach at Drake trailing only 18 wins that Forddy Anderson earned in the 1946-47 season and 19 victories by Bob Ortegel in the 1974-75 campaign.

This marked the first time since the 1969-70 season that Drake has won four straight MVC games on the road.

Drake also won its sixth road game of the season - the most since the 1974-75 team won seven games on the road.