Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012
OMAHA, Neb.--The Drake Bulldogs were held to their lowest shooting percentage of the season in a 76-59 loss to the 24th-ranked Creighton Bluejays on Tuesday night at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Box Score | Updated Season Statistics
Junior Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich.) led the team with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, but the Bulldogs managed to convert just 36.8 percent of their shots on the night (21-of-57).
Creighton improves to 12-2, and 2-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Drake falls to 8-6, 1-2 in the MVC.
The Bluejays got off to a hot start, making eight of their first 10 shots to build an 18-4 lead, which they stretched to 28-11 at the 8:29 mark of the first half. With Creighton shooting such a high percentage, Drake struggled to make shots in the early-going, converting just four of their first 15 attempts.
Drake then put together a 7-1 run to narrow the gap to 29-18 and climb back into a contention, making four of five shots from the field during that run.
"Creighton got off to a great start, and that's not what we needed on the road," said head coach Mark Phelps. "We were able to maintain consistency and trimmed it to 10 in the first half, then battled back in the second half a little bit, but we just couldn't make shots. Certainly you have to give them a lot of credit to their defense."
The Bulldogs trailed 40-25 at halftime as the Bluejays finished the first half shooting 61.9 percent from the field, (13-of-21), and made 3-of-4 three-point attempt. Drake shot 33.3 percent (9-27), including 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. Creighton held a 17-12 advantage on the boards, but Drake had narrowed that gap from 12-4 early in the game, outrebounding the Bluejays 8-5 in the final minutes before intermission.
The second half began much like the first with Creighton bolting out to a 5-0 run to push their lead to 45-25, but Drake came back with consecutive baskets from Jordan Clarke (Rockville, Md.) and Simons. The Bluejays, however, proved too powerful and eventually built their lead to 23 points in the second half.
"I was happy with the way our guys really competed," Phelps said, "but they made shots and we didn't, and their defense was better than ours, and that's why they won the basketball game."
Simons' 19 points were his most in the last 10 games, since scoring 19 in a victory over Winthrop on Nov. 19. He made 3-of-6 three-point attempts, and added one rebound.
Drake's 14 steals were a season high, and the Bulldogs forced the Bluejays into their highest turnover total of the season, with 22.
The 36.8-percent shooting figure for Drake (21-for-57) was its lowest of the season, coming in below the 38-percent rate put forth in its Nov. 18 loss to Ole Miss. Creighton shot 60 percent on the night (27-for-45). The Bluejays were 5-for-11 from three-point range, while Drake was 5-for-19.
Creighton, with 6-foot, 9-inch, 270-pound post player Gregory Echenique, outrebounded Drake 34-27 and held a 42-24 advantage in points in the paint. Sophomore Doug McDermott, the nation's second-leading scorer, led all players with 24 points, 18 of which came in the first half.
It was the Bulldogs' third loss in a row at Creighton and gave the Bulldogs consecutive losses for the first time this season.
Sophomore Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill.) made a career-high five steals for Drake, but struggled from the floor, converting just 2-of-10 shots and finishing with six points and two rebounds. Clarke led the team with seven rebounds to go along with six points.
The Bulldogs return home to face Northern Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 7:05 p.m. To purchase tickets please call (515) 271-DOGS, or go online to www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com.
