Missouri State (11-3, 3-0) outscored Creighton by a 47-26 margin in the second half and shot 68 percent from the field in the second stanza to turn back the home standing Bluejays, 67-55, in Missouri Valley Conference play here Tuesday.
The Bears went into the intermission trailing 29-20 after making just 8-of-22 field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes, but took just over seven minutes to tie the game in the second half. A five-foot jumper by Kyle Weems left of the rim with 12:54 to go made it a 42-42 game.
Jermaine Mallett, who led the Bears in scoring for the third straight game with 15 points, then put the Bears on top with a steal and break-away dunk 18 seconds later.
Creighton (10-5, 2-1) would tie the game on a pair of free throws by Rutgers transfer Gregory Echenique, but went nearly nine minutes without a field goal in the second half while the Bears climbed ahead.
The Bears ran off 15 of the next 18 points to move ahead 59-47 with 4:05 to go on a driving layup by Nafis Ricks. Despite struggling at the free throw line most of the night, MSU knocked down its final six free throw attempts to seal the double-figure win and capture victory at the Qwest Center for just the second time ever.
Missouri State improved to 3-0 in the league for the first time since the 1999-2000 season and finshed with a .532 (25-for-47) shooting effort, including 6-of-13 (.462) from three-point range. The Bears had just six turnovers on the night and were 11-for-17 (.647) at the line.
MSU also got double figure scoring efforts from Weems with 14, Will Creekmore with 12 and Ricks with 10. Weems also led the squad with seven rebounds, while Ricks and Mallett tallied game highs with five assists each.
Creighton was led by Doug McDermott with 17 points, including 14 in the second half, while Antoine Young scored 14, and Kenny Lawson added 10.
The Bears return home Friday at 7:05 p.m. to battle Evansville (7-6, 1-2) before heading to Wichita State for a 7:30 p.m. game Sunday.
Story courtesy of Missouri State Athletics
