March
22, 2010
Creighton beats Fairfield, advances to semifinals
Box Score
OMAHA, Neb. -- Kenny Lawson Jr. and Justin Carter combined for
33 points and 18 rebounds as Creighton advanced to the
semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament with
a 73-55 win over Fairfield on Monday night at the Omaha Civic
Auditorium.
Creighton will next face league rival Missouri State on
Wednesday at 7:05 pm in Springfield, Mo.
Creighton improved to 18-15 with its fifth win in the past six
games, and second straight in the CIT. Incredibly, this marks
the first time in Creighton's 29 all-time postseason appearances
that it has won consecutive postseason games. Fairfield ends its
year with a 23-11 mark, one shy of the school record for most
wins in a year.
Creighton, which relied on its bench for 56 points in its
opening-round victory over South Dakota last Tuesday, led the
majority of the first half behind strong play from its starting
five to take a 32-25 lead into intermission. The host's opening
quintet scored 30 of Creighton's 32 first half points, including
10 points from Kenny Lawson Jr. and eight points and three
steals by Josh Jones. Fairfield was paced by eight points in the
first half by Anthony Johnson.
After Creighton scored to open the second half and go ahead
34-25, Fairfield answered with the next eight points in 73
seconds and prompt a Bluejay timeout. Derek Needham, held to
2-of-8 shooting in the first half, drained a pair of
three-pointers to start the Stag flurry. A free throw from
Johnson tied the score at 34 with 15:36 left. The Stags took
their only lead of the second half at 38-37 on a lay-up in
transition by Needham, but Creighton scored the next eight
points and didn't trail again. That run included a free throw
from Carter, a trey from Antoine Young and two scores from
Darryl Ashford.
The Stags would trim their deficit to 47-43 with 8:51 before
three straight trifectas from Creighton put the game out of
range. Ethan Wragge started the blitz with a trey from the top
of the key, his 20th straight game with a three-pointer and
freshman school-record 64th of the season. Carter then drained a
three from the left corner and Lawson Jr. added a rare
three-pointer to make it 56-45 with 6:51 left.
From there, Fairfield would get no closer than 60-53 with 2:34
left, unable to replicate its magical comeback from 27 down in
the second half at George Mason in the CIT opening round last
week.
Creighton shot 24-for-56 (42.9 percent) from the field, 7-for-15
(46.7 percent) from three-point range and 18-of-21 (85.7
percent) at the free throw line. Lawson Jr. made up for a
two-point showing against South Dakota with 17 points, eight
rebounds and three blocks. Carter answered his 1-for-10 game
last week with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his second
double-double in the past three games. Young also scored in
double-digits with 11 points and five assists, giving him 100
helpers on the season. Creighton outrebounded Fairfield 41-35
for the night.
Fairfield shot 20-for-60 (33.3 percent) from the field, 3-for-14
(21.4 percent) from downtown and 12-of-15 (80 percent) at the
charity stripe. Johnson had 19 points and seven rebounds to go
with four blocks, while Needham scored 15. Mike Evanovich, who
torched George Mason for 31 points and nine three-pointers last
week, drained a three-pointer on his first possession but did
not score the rest of the night.
Creighton next plays at Missouri State on Wednesday at 7 pm. The
teams split in the regular-season, with Creighton winning 76-72
on Jan. 24 in Omaha and Missouri State winning 70-52 on Feb. 6
in Springfield.
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