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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Blake Ahearn scored 27 points, making all five of his 3-point attempts, to lead Southwest Missouri State to a 79-71 victory over Creighton on Saturday.
Ahearn, a key sophomore reserve, was 5-for-5 in the first half and 8-for-10 for the game as the Bears (12-8, 6-6 Missouri Valley Conference) extending their winning streak to five and moved into a tie with Creighton (14-9, 6-6) for fifth place in the league. Ahearn also made all six of his free throws, extending his current streak to 30. He made 60 straight in his freshman season.
Tyler Chaney scored 11 points and Anthony Shavies had 10 for the usually-balanced Bears, who shot 45 percent (25-for-56) and were 10-for-16 on 3-pointers.
Nate Funk led Creighton, which lost 80-73 last week at Southwest Missouri, with 26 points. Johnny Mathies added 13.
After trailing by 15 in the first half, the Bluejays clawed within nine at halftime and then closed within 58-56 with 7:49 to play. But a turnover was turned into a breakaway layup by Ahearn to start a 12-2 run and make the score 68-58 with 4:53 left.
Creighton couldn't get closer than five until only 31 seconds remained as the Bears missed free throws with an opportunity to put it away.
The Bluejays led by six early and the scored was tied at 17 when Southwest Missouri went on a 17-2 run to lead 34-19. Ahearn came off the bench and made eight straight points during the run as the Bears took the lead and held it the rest of the game.
Ahearn had 14 points by halftime, including four of his team's seven 3-pointers. The Bears were 7-for-10, and Creighton went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc in the first half, which ended 43-34 after the Bluejays scored the final six points on free throws.
The Bears now lead the all-time series 21-20 since the teams' first matchup in the 1953-54 season.
