SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Creighton added another lowlight Saturday night to a season already littered with them.

The Bluejays not only trailed the entire game in dropping a 70-52 decision to Missouri State, but they also rarely were close enough to sniff the Bears. An 11-1 run midway through the first half put Missouri State in control, and the Bears closed things out with a 17-0 burst midway through the second to the delight of the 9,101 at JQH Arena.

“Right from the start, we were a step slow,'' Creighton coach Dana Altman said. “We didn't give ourselves opportunities, we had some bad turnovers and we just didn't finish some plays to keep ourselves close.

“Then in the second half, they hit a little streak and there was nothing we could do about it.''

One game after setting a school record for field-goal accuracy at 66.7 percent, the Bluejays shot 36.5 percent from the field. After a three-game stretch of making at least 10 3-point baskets, Creighton went 4 for 21 from beyond the arc.

And when the shots didn't drop, especially early, it infected the other parts of the Bluejays' game.

“We need to focus when the shots aren't falling,'' Creighton forward Justin Carter said. “It's then that you know you need some stops, and for the most part, we couldn't get stops tonight. They got easy buckets at the rim.''

In snapping an eight-game skid in the series, Missouri State shot 50.9 percent from the field and outscored Creighton 42-26 in the paint. The Bears also outrebounded the Bluejays 40-27 as five Missouri State players had as many or more rebounds than Ethan Wragge, who led Creighton with four.

What particularly pleased Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin was his team's defensive effort that limited Creighton to a season-low point total while still flashing some offensive firepower.

“I don't want to be a good defensive team that scores 40 or 50 points,'' Martin said. “I want to be able to get up and down and make it exciting but still be able to hold a team to 50 or 60 points.”

Missouri State used its first-half run to turn a 14-10 advantage into a 25-11 edge when Adam Leonard hit a jumper with 8:28 to play. The Bears maintained the 11-point lead to take a 35-24 edge into halftime, then matched Creighton's intensity at the start of the second half.

The Bluejays scored two quick baskets, but Missouri State answered with buckets of its own. That allowed the Bears to hit the first media timeout still ahead by 11, and they followed with their decisive run that took a 41-30 lead to 58-30 with 8:59 remaining.

In Creighton's nine possessions during that spurt, the Bluejays went 0 for 7 from the field and had a basket disallowed by interference. They also had a turnover and missed two free-throw attempts.

“There are going to be games when the shots don't fall,'' Creighton center Kenny Lawson said. “That's when you have to key in on the defense and rebounding, and we didn't do that.''

Now 12-12 and 7-6 in the league, Creighton returns home for a pair of home games this week against Indiana State (Tuesday) and Illinois State (Saturday).

“We have to learn from this one,'' Altman said, “but we also have to put it out of our head and get ready to play on Tuesday.''

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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