National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Creighton 93, DePaul 58
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 11, 2017
Where: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Officials: # Ed Corbett, # Evan Burroughs, # Nathan Farrell
Attendance: 9409

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- It was a day for non-starters to shine for No. 23 Creighton on Saturday.

Bluejays coach Greg McDermott used 13 different players and his reserves drew much of the postgame praise following a 93-58 Big East victory over DePaul at Allstate Arena.

"Our bench was really good and obviously we shot the daylights out of the basketball," said McDermott, whose team overwhelmed the host Blue Demons 54-32 in the second and collectively shot 60 percent for the game. "Things look pretty good when the ball goes in."

Toby Hegner came off the bench to lead five players in double figures as the Bluejays (21-4, 8-4 Big East) broke open a relatively close game.

Hegner scored 14 points, Marcus Foster had 13, Khyri Thomas and Cole Huff each added 12 while Justin Patton collected 11 points and 11 rebounds as 10 different players scored for Creighton.

Chris Harrison-Docks topped DePaul with 15 points, including four of its five 3 pointers. Tre'Darius McCallum had 11 and Billy Garrett Jr. added 10 as the Blue Demons (8-17, 1-11) dropped their eighth straight.

DePaul held one early lead and forced three ties before Creighton broke a 10-10 deadlock on a Zach Hanson layup and never looked back.

The Bluejays pulled out to 26-18 lead on a Thomas three-point play with 6:18 showing. After DePaul crept back to within four, Creighton restored an eight-point edge on Hegner's 3-pointer while Thomas added a jam with 55 seconds left to give the Bluejays their first double-digit lead.

Huff's buzzer-beating 3-pointer completed a 12-2 run over the final 3:51 for a 39-26 halftime advantage.

"The bench was critical in the first half," McDermott said. "It was a back-and-forth game and we struggled to get away and I went with the (reserve) group and we were able to create a little separation.

"And then we got the momentum at the locker room (break)."

Creighton used eight unanswered points to open a 47-26 lead early in the second half.

"(Creighton) played with a sense of urgency," said DePaul coach Dave Leitao. "I thought they were crisp, they got the ball inside and they had opportunities."

The Bluejays made it 53-32 on Foster's dunk with 15:32 to play and a Patton dunk with 5:53 to play pushed the lead to 31 points. It topped 40 points on a Davion Mintz 3-pointer with under two minutes left.

Creighton shot 60.7 percent (34 of 56) from the field and hit 13 of 22 3 point tries (59.1 percent). DePaul managed just 17 of 55 (30.9 percent).

"We've had the ability -- in a lot of different situations for the most part -- to be pretty competitive," said Leitao. "Today we weren't."

NOTES: Creighton has been ranked every week this season -- as high as a program-best No. 7 on Jan. 16 before slipping to No. 23 this week after three Big East losses in five games. ... The Bluejays made their final visit to Allstate Arena on Saturday, finishing 4-5 all-time with four straight wins. Their next visit will be to DePaul's new Wintrust Arena downtown Chicago arena opening later this year. Creighton continues Big East play on Wednesday at Seton Hall. ... Billy Garrett Jr. moved into the Blue Demons' all-time top 10 in scoring with 1,536 career points. He needed nine to pass Terry Davis (1989-93). ... Saturday's game was DePaul's fifth against a ranked team. The Blue Demons, who are winless this year against the Top 25, have two more coming up, including Monday's home clash with No. 2 Villanova.
Top Game Performances
 
Creighton   DePaul
Toby Hegner 14 Scoring Chris Harrison-Docks 15
Khyri Thomas 7 Assists Eli Cain 3
Justin Patton 11 Rebounds Joe Hanel 7
Marcus Foster 2 Free Throws Made Billy Garrett Jr. 6
Toby Hegner 2 Steals Chris Harrison-Docks 4
Justin Patton 2 Blocks Joe Hanel 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Creighton 93 60.7 13-22 12-17 24 32 3 4 16
DePaul 58 30.9 5-19 19-23 9 29 1 9 18