OMAHA, Neb.—Creighton had a nine-game win streak snapped by Illinois State earlier this season. But with a share of the Missouri Valley Conference title on the line, the Bluejays didn’t let it happen again.
Booker Woodfox and P’Allen Stinnett scored 20 points to lead Creighton (25-6, 14-4) to a 74-70 win and snap a four-game losing streak against the Redbirds (22-8, 11-7) on Saturday.
The Bluejays—winners of 10 straight—came into the game tied for the conference lead with Northern Iowa, which played Evansville Saturday night.
“We kept plugging away and found a way to win,” Creighton coach Dana Altman said. “At this time of the year, that’s really important.”
The Bluejays bolstered their NCAA Tournament resume with their 25th victory, the second most in a regular season in school history. But it didn’t come without a fight from an Illinois State team that opened the season with 14 consecutive wins and beat Creighton 86-64 on Jan. 3.
Creighton led 45-38 at the half after hitting 61 percent of its first-half shots. Stinnett scored 13 points in the first 11 minutes, but Illinois State stayed close by knocking down 7 of 14 3-points before halftime.
Leading 51-50 with 15:14 to play, the Bluejays went on a 12-1 run to get some breathing room against the Redbirds. But ISU rallied to tie the game at 52 on a basket by Dinma Odiakosa with 13:03 on the clock.
The Bluejays answered with a 10-0 run, started by a 3-pointer from Josh Dotzler—his first in six games. Woodfox added a three of his own on the ensuing possession before scoring a second-chance basket and converting a steal to make it 62-52.
“It was just the energy that we had,” Woodfox said. “When Josh hit that three, it gave everyone on our team the energy to go down and get a stop. And when we got that stop, I came down and hit a three to give even more energy.”
But the Redbirds wouldn’t go away, closing within 72-70 on Odiakosa’s dunk with 11 seconds remaining.
Woodfox then sealed it with two free throws with 7 seconds to play.
“I give credit to Creighton,” said Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich. “If you don’t lose a game since January, you deserve to win this league.”
Emmanuel Holloway and Champ Oguchi had 14 points apiece for the Redbirds, who will be the third seed at the MVC tournament. Osiris Eldridge and Odiakosa had 13 points each, and Lloyd Phillips added 12.
