National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Creighton 71, Tulsa 54
When: 8:05 PM ET, Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Where: CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Officials: # Joe DeRosa, # Tom Eades, # Zelton Steed
Attendance: 15102


No. 13 Creighton 71, Tulsa 54: Sophomore Avery Dingman shot 8-for-9 from the field – including 5-of-6 beyond the arc – en route to a career-high 21 points off the bench as the host Bluejays downed the Golden Hurricane.

Gregory Echenique added 15 points and eight rebounds for Creighton (11-1), which overcame a season-high 17 turnovers and rare off-game from Doug McDermott.

McDermott – the nation’s third-leading scorer – hit each of his three second-half field-goal attempts to make up for a 1-for-6 start to finish with 16 points. Impressive freshman guard James Woodard posted his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Tulsa (6-5).

Both teams started out slowly as Echenique accounted for the only points in the first 4:25. However, while the Golden Hurricane made just one field goal over a span of 7:32 midway through the first half, the Bluejays warmed up as Echenique and Dingman combined to score 10 straight points to give Creighton a 24-8 lead.

Tulsa managed to chop a 18-point halftime deficit down to 11 early in the second half, but a jumper from Echenique and 3-pointer by McDermott sparked a 14-3 run as Creighton held the Golden Hurricane scoreless for nearly five minutes to pull away.

GAME NOTEBOOK: McDermott, coming off consecutive 30-point games in wins over Akron and California, was vying to become the first Creighton player since Benoit Benjamin in 1985 to hit that mark in three straight games. … Tulsa committed a season-high 23 turnovers, leading to a season-high 32 points off turnovers for the Bluejays. …Symbolic of Creighton’s sluggish start, guard Grant Gibbs – who had just 10 turnovers over the team’s first 11 games – committed two in the first 2:54 of this contest.

Top Game Performances
 
Tulsa   Creighton
James Woodard 15 Scoring Avery Dingman 21
Rashad Ray 3 Assists Grant Gibbs 6
James Woodard 10 Rebounds Gregory Echenique 8
James Woodard 5 Free Throws Made Doug McDermott 7
James Woodard 4 Steals Austin Chatman 3
Kauri Black 1 Blocks Gregory Echenique 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Tulsa 54 37.5 5-16 13-18 10 32 3 9 25
Creighton 71 51.9 9-20 8-14 19 28 2 17 17