OMAHA, Neb.—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.
