Missouri State beats conference rival Creighton 67-61 to reach CIT final
By APWednesday, March 24, 2010
Missouri State beats Creighton to reach CIT final
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Adam Leonard and Nafis Ricks each scored 15 points, leading Missouri State to a 67-61 victory over Creighton on Wednesday night and a spot in the championship game of the CollegeInsider.com tournament.
Missouri State will play the winner of Thursday night’s game between Pacific and Appalachian State for the championship Tuesday in Springfield.
The Missouri Valley Conference teams split their two regular-season meetings, but Missouri State (23-12) never trailed in this one.
The Bluejays (18-16) tied it at 52 with 6:18 left, but Missouri State then switched to a zone defense and Creighton went more than four minutes without a field goal. Meanwhile, the Bears went on a 10-0 run to go up 62-52 with 2:25 left.
Will Creekmore had 13 points for Missouri State and Jermaine Mallett added 11.
Kenny Lawson Jr. scored 21 for Creighton, Antoine Young had 17 and Ethan Wragge 12.
