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.
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 |