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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Ryan Sears led a Creighton attack of 3-pointers
that broke down Southwest Missouri State. But the Bluejays' defense
might have been just as important in winning the Missouri Valley
Conference Tournament championship.
"We work on defense a lot," Sears said after hitting four
3-pointers to help Creighton beat the Bears 57-45 to win the
league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the second
straight year.
|  | | Creighton's Donnie Johnson waves a championship T-shirt after the Bluejays won the Missouri Valley Conference title. |
"I thought defensively we played really hard," said Bluejays
coach Dana Altman. "(I'm) really proud of their defensive
hustle."
Sears was selected as the most valuable player as the Blue Jays
(23-9) set a Missouri Valley season record for 3-pointers with 277,
breaking the record of 268 set by Southern Illinois in 1995-96.
The Bluejays made nine 3-pointers in the game after hitting
seven on Sunday to upset top-seeded Indiana State.
The Bears shot 34.6 percent for the game. At one stage, they
missed 11 straight shots.
"This team takes pride in the way our defense plays," said
Donnie Johnson.
Southwest Missouri fell to 22-10, but remains in contention for
an at-large bid to the NCAAs. The loss snapped a 10-game winning
streak by the Bears.
"I'll be amazed if we're not in the NCAA Tournament Sunday,"
Bears coach Barry Hinson said.
Sears, playing with a dislocated finger on his left hand, made
three 3-pointers in the first half to help Creighton to a 35-20
lead at halftime.
Matt West added 11 points and three 3-pointers.
Creighton, which has now won five games in a row, held Southwest
Missouri scoreless during a stretch of 7:18 of the opening half.
Creighton returns to the NCAA Tournament a year after upsetting
Louisville in the opening round before falling to Maryland in the
second round.
With Sears leading the way, Creighton put together runs of 11-0
and 13-0 in the opening half on the way to a 35-20 lead. Sears and
Kyle Korver combined for three 3-pointers in a span of 1:47 midway
through the half to erase an early 11-4 deficit. Korver, Sears and
West keyed a 13-0 spurt later in the half.
Johnson scored three points in the first two minutes of the
second half to push the lead to 38-20. Southwest Missouri battled
back to 43-36 with 17:04 left before Sears silenced the comeback
with another 3-point shot. West's 3-pointer with 5:48 remaining put
Creighton back in control 52-38.
Kevin Ault, Matt Rueter and Scott Brakebill led Southwest
Missouri with eight points each.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Creighton Clubhouse
SW Missouri State Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Donnie Johnson blows by the competition.
avi: 984 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Kyle Korver and Creighton play some serious defense.
avi: 839 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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