Justin Carter just decided it was time.

The Creighton forward said there are no deeper reasons why on Saturday he visited a barber shop for the first time in five years, trading his long dreadlocks for a close-cropped look.

“I just had this feeling I should cut them,'' he said. “There's no deeper purpose or anything like that.''

Carter, still recovering from a knee injury suffered two weeks ago, admitted he had been thinking about cutting his hair for several weeks.

“Yesterday, I called my mom and asked her what she thought,'' Carter said. “She asked me why, and I just told her, ‘I think I'm ready for a haircut.' She said, ‘If that's your decision, that's your decision.'''

Carter's new hairstyle obviously created a stir amongst his teammates and coaches.

“He's been talking about it for awhile but we didn't believe he'd do it because he's been growing it for four or five years,'' Creighton guard Kaleb Korver said. “I got a picture e-mailed to me today before shoot-around, and I said, ‘No way.'

“When I saw him in person, I was shocked.''

Creighton coach Dana Altman has joked that his need to sign Carter two springs ago led him to relax his desire to see his players in more conservative hairstyles.

Naturally, Altman liked Carter's new look.

“It's nice but I was shocked, just like all the guys were,'' Altman said. “But it looks good.''

Korver kiddingly said Carter's new look should positively affect one aspect of his on-court play.

“I told him he should be able to jump like five feet higher,'' Korver said, “because he's got 10 pounds less on his head.''

Said Carter: “It does feel kind of weird when I'm running but I don't know if I'm going to be able to jump any higher.''

Harriman, Millard return to CU lineup

Casey Harriman and Chad Millard made their season debuts Sunday in the 80-65 win over Arkansas-Little Rock.

Harriman, sidelined by complications from the H1N1 flu, played eight minutes. He scored three points, had two rebounds and a steal.

Millard, out since early October with a foot injury, played five minutes. He had a rebound and a turnover, and missed two free-throw attempts.

“It really helps us because that's just more guys we can throw at other teams,'' Creighton center Kenny Lawson said. “Coach Altman likes to run a lot, and with more guys, that's going to help our game plan of getting up and down the floor and wearing teams out with our depth.

“Having Chad's leadership and Casey's toughness back, you can't go wrong with those two guys. We really appreciate that they're back.''

Trojan technical leads to six-point turnaround

A technical foul against Arkansas-Little Rock's Wayne Burton contributed to a six-point possession for the Bluejays early in the second half.

Burton got called for a non-shooting foul with 17:57 to play. As the teams lined up on the inbounds play, Burton got hit with a technical. Creighton's P'Allen Stinnett made the two technical free throws, then made another after getting fouled when Creighton inbounded the ball.

Darrell Armstrong rebounded Stinnett's missed second free-throw attempt, and Korver capped the possession with a 3-point basket to stretch a 38-32 lead to 44-32.

Arkansas-Little Rock coach Steve Shields also got a technical 45 seconds later when he protested a call. Creighton got one point off that call.

Shootaround

Creighton never trailed, making it the 21st time in 102 games at Qwest Center Omaha that the Bluejays have led wire-to-wire. ... Redshirt freshmen Matt Dorwart and Derek Sebastian also saw their first career action in the game's final minute. Sebastian made one of two free-throw attempts for his first career point. ... Lawson just missed recording his first career double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds. “Next time, I'll miss a few more shots so you can get more rebounds,'' Korver said jokingly.

— Steven Pivovar

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