OMAHA, Neb.—Locked in a tight game with struggling Missouri State, Kenton Walker and P’Allen Stinnett stepped up to provide Creighton a spark.
The sophomores came off the bench to combine for 27 points—including 10 during a 15-4 run to open the second half—as the Bluejays pulled away for a 75-51 win over the Bears on Sunday.
Walker finished with a career-high 15 points, and Stinnett, who did not start because of a sore knee, had all 12 of his after the half. The duo hit 9 of 10 shots as the Bluejays outscored the Bears 34-16 over the first 13 minutes of the second half to blow open a tight game.
“The beginning of every second half is always important to us,” Walker said. “We tried to just go hard, get the ball moving and get in the flow. We got in our rhythm and were pretty much unstoppable after that.”
The Jays (17-6, 7-4), who led 31-29 at the break, shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half while handing Missouri State its eighth loss in nine road games this season. The Bears (9-13, 2-9) were just 6 of 24 from the field—including 0 of 9 from 3-point range—in the final 20 minutes.
“The one thing we struggle with is pressure,” Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin said. “I thought (Creighton) did a tremendous job in the second half of taking away our first and second options on the perimeter.”
That wasn’t the case early on. Kyle Weems, who finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, hit three 3-pointers as the Bears raced to a 21-11 lead.
The Jays responded with a 16-5 run to move in front by 5 before Missouri State scored 5 consecutive points to tie the game at 29-29.
Creighton moved in front on Kenny Lawson’s dunk with 31 seconds left in the half and never trailed again.
Josh Dotzler’s 3-pointer to open the second half started the Jays’ surge. Their lead grew the rest of the way with the Bears never making a charge.
“I felt like if we picked up the tempo, really got it going and pushed out, it would be to our advantage,” Jays coach Dana Altman said. “That was really the difference in the game.”
