National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Creighton 68, Drake 61
When: 7:05 PM ET, Friday, March 2, 2012
Where: Scottrade Center, Saint Louis, Missouri
Officials: # David Hall, # Don Daily, # Mike Eades
Attendance: N/A

Creighton 68, Drake 61: Doug McDermott had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lift the No. 24 Bluejays in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.

Creighton, the No. 2 seed, will meet Evansville in Saturday's semifinals.

In a game that featured seven lead changes and seven ties, McDermott put the Bluejays up for good with an eight-point burst early in the second half. Trailing 38-37, McDermott hit a jumper and two 3-pointers to put Creighton up 45-40 with 15:10 to play.

Creighton (26-5) extended the run to 15-4, capped by Josh Jones' 3-pointer that put the Bluejays up 52-42 with 8:03 left. McDermott made 4 of 6 3-pointers, including 3 of 4 in the second half. Drake made only 1 of 15 3-pointers.

A layup by Rayvonte Rice with 1:24 left brought Drake to within 63-60 before Creighton made 5 of 7 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Rice led Drake with 15 points.

Drake (17-15) shot out to a 9-0 lead, but the Bluejays rallied with Gregory Echenique’s jumper giving Creighton a 24-22 lead with 8:17 left in the half.

A layup by Antoine Young with two seconds left gave Creighton a 35-34 lead at the half. Young finished with 16 points, while Echenique added 10.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Drake and Creighton each made 1 of 8 3-pointers in the first half. … Jordan Clarke finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for Drake … Drake went 5:05 without scoring in the second half.
Top Game Performances
 
Drake   Creighton
Rayvonte Rice 15 Scoring Doug McDermott 26
Kurt Alexander 2 Assists Austin Chatman 3
Jordan Clarke 11 Rebounds Doug McDermott 10
Kurt Alexander 6 Free Throws Made Doug McDermott 4
Kurt Alexander 2 Steals Jahenns Manigat 2
Jordan Clarke 2 Blocks Gregory Echenique 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Drake 61 40.0 1-15 12-16 6 31 4 4 6
Creighton 68 46.3 5-19 13-19 13 35 2 3 9