Creighton beats Bradley for 11th straight 20-win season

OMAHA -- When it comes to 20-win seasons, Creighton has been among college basketball's elite over the past decade.

Creighton extended its streak to 11 Wednesday, getting 18 points from Booker Woodfox in its 79-65 win over Bradley at Qwest Center Omaha. The Bluejays join Duke, Florida, Kansas, Syracuse, Gonzaga and Kent State in a small group of Division I teams with at least 20 wins in 10 consecutive years.

The Jays broke open a tight game Wednesday by outscoring the Braves 24-8 over the final 10 minutes to improve to 20-6 overall and 10-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Creighton also extended its string of consecutive seasons with at least 10 league wins to 13, which is bettered only by the current streaks of Kansas and Stanford.

"I'm proud of our guys and I'm proud of our program for doing that," Jays coach Dana Altman said. "We've had to overcome some injuries in previous seasons and some ups and downs in seasons to continue to do that. It says a lot about our players."

A lot of players contributed to Creighton's victory over the Braves. Five scored in double figures and point guard Josh Dotzler contributed a season-best nine assists.

But the win didn't come easily. Bradley (13-12, 7-7) came from 10 points down to take a 39-37 halftime lead on a buzzer-beating shot from midcourt by Sam Maniscalco.

There were four ties and seven lead changes over the first 10 minutes of the second half before the Braves, who shot 57 percent from the floor and hit 6 of 8 3-pointers prior to the break, went cold from the floor.

After Woodfox tied the game for the final time at 57-57, the Jays held Bradley without a field goal for more than nine minutes. Chris Roberts' second-chance basket with 1:06 to play was the only one by the Braves in the final 10 minutes.

"It's not a 30-minute game, it's a 40-minute game," Bradley coach Jim Les said. "Coming down the stretch, when you're right there, the execution, concentration and energy has got to step up to a new level."

Crieghton was the only team with that level Wednesday, finishing the game by scoring the final seven points.

P'Allen Stinnett had 15 points, Kenton Walker tallied 11 and Justin Carter and Kenny Lawson each added 10 for the Jays.

Theron Wilson led Bradley with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Braves shot only 30 percent from the floor in the second half while Creighton hit 54 percent of its field goal attempts.

Kansas St. 85, Texas Tech 73

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Unlike most basketball games, this one was over in the first few minutes.

Darren Kent scored 18 points and Kansas State roared to a 30-6 lead en route to an 85-73 victory over Texas Tech on Wednesday night. The Wildcats' sixth straight victory following an 0-4 start in Big 12 play has rocketed them into contention and set up a huge game on Saturday with No. 16 Kansas.

"It just killed us," Texas Tech coach Pat Knight said of Kansas State's opening burst. "You can't get off to a start like that. This team, right now, is playing the best in this league."

Denis Clemente had 15 points and Dominique Sutton and Jacob Pullen scored 12 each for the Wildcats (17-7, 6-4 Big 12).

Texas Tech (12-12, 2-7) committed seven turnovers and missed 12 of its first 14 shots while Kansas State was building its insurmountable lead. The Red Raiders, led by Nick Okorie's outside shooting, finished on a 19-2 run to make the final score deceptively close and almost ruin Frank Martin's night.

"Unfortunately, our youth and inexperience showed its ugly head in the second half," said Kansas State's second-year head coach. "It aggravates the heck out of me, drives me insane. You've got to respect the game. The game's played for 40 minutes. You need to play for 40 minutes."

Okorie finished with 21 points. Alan Voskuil added 17 and John Roberson scored 11 for the Red Raiders.

As the final minute ticked away, the big crowd in Bramlage Coliseum began chanting "Beat KU, beat KU." A year ago, the Wildcats beat the Jayhawks to end a 24-game home court losing streak to their archrivals and triggered a wild celebration by fans.

In those first minutes while building a 49-25 halftime lead over Texas Tech, Kansas State hit a blistering 54 percent and had two blocks and three steals. It's the first time Kansas State has won six conference games in a row since 2006-07.

The Red Raiders, who have lost eight of their last 10, trimmed the lead to 17 when John Roberson's two free throws made it 62-45. But then Buchi Awaji, Fred Brown and Chris Merriewether each hit two foul shots to ignite a 10-2 run and the Wildcats were quickly back on top by 25.

"Anybody can lose on any night in the Big 12," said Pullen. "This is a power conference. Coach said when we play with the intensity that we played with tonight, there are no teams that can play with us."

Texas Tech committed 12 of its 16 turnovers in the lopsided first half and almost never got off a good shot against a defense that has held 16 opponents under 70 points.

After Darko Cohadarevic got Tech's second field goal almost 9 minutes into the game, Pullen drilled a 3-pointer, the Red Raiders committed a turnover and Sutton easily dribbled through what looked like a confused defense for a layup and a 22-5 lead.

Then on Kansas State's next possession, Sutton did exactly the same thing, knifing through the defense for an easy basket. The lead reached 26-6 on Pullen's pullup jumper.

The Red Raiders threw the ball into the crowd, ruining a good fast break opportunity, and then Clemente's nifty underhanded pass fed Sutton for an easy bucket and a 35-10 lead for the Wildcats, who had lost six of their last seven to Tech.

The Wildcats are only the second team since the Big 12 began in 1996 to lose their first four games and climb back to .500.

"I thought we actually competed in the second half," said Knight. "Stats say we won the second half, but the frustrating thing for me is, why can't we just play that hard in the first half? I'm not saying we would have won the game, but at least we would have been in the game."