National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Creighton 79, Illinois St. 72
When: 8:05 PM ET, Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Where: Redbird Arena, Normal, Illinois
Officials: # Tom Eades, # Terry Oglesby, # Mark Whitehead
Attendance: 8813

No. 11 Creighton 79, Illinois State 72:
Forward Ethan Wragge scored a game-high 18 points, including 6-of-9 3-pointers, and Doug McDermott added 15 points and nine rebounds as the visiting Bluejays held off the Redbirds in a Missouri Valley Conference game.

McDermott, who came into the game averaging 23.5 points, sealed the win for Creighton (13-1, 2-0) by connecting on both ends of a one-and-one situation with 7.9 seconds left to increase the Bluejays' lead to 77-72.

Illinois State guard Tyler Brown missed a 3-pointer and Bluejays point guard Grant Gibbs grabbed the rebound and finished the scoring with a pair of free throws with less than a second remaining. Brown and guard Bryant Allen scored 15 points apiece to lead Illinois State (9-5, 0-2).

Gibbs finished with 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Bluejays, who shot 52 percent (13-of-25) from 3-point range and won their seventh straight game.

Illinois State, which trailed by as many as 12 points late in the first half, rallied to take a 65-64 lead on a jumper by forward Jon Ekey with 7:18 remaining. But guard Jahenns Manigat nailed a 3-pointer to give the Bluejays the lead for good a little over a minute later.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Illinois State F Jackie Carmichael, celebrating his 23rd birthday, got a block early in the second half to break the school career blocked shot mark of 160 set by Greg Dilligard (2004-07). Carmichael, who entered the game tied with Dilligard, finished with 10 points and six rebounds and has 161 career blocks. ... Creighton has won six straight over Illinois State including a 83-79 overtime decision in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Tournament in St. Louis last March. ... The Bluejays improved to 13-3 in road games over the past two seasons.
Top Game Performances
 
Creighton   Illinois St.
Ethan Wragge 18 Scoring Bryant Allen 15
Grant Gibbs 7 Assists Tyler Brown 6
Doug McDermott 9 Rebounds Jackie Carmichael 6
Doug McDermott 4 Free Throws Made Tyler Brown 2
Austin Chatman 2 Steals Bryant Allen 1
Doug McDermott 1 Blocks Jackie Carmichael 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Creighton 79 52.8 13-25 10-12 19 32 1 4 12
Illinois St. 72 42.2 13-28 5-10 19 29 2 4 7