ST. LOUIS -- Kyle Korver scored 17 points to give Creighton a 63-41 win
against Southwest Missouri in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley
Conference Tournament on Saturday.
Creighton (24-6), the regular-season MVC Champion and number one seed in the
tournament, overcame a lethargic first half in which it shot only 37 percent to
advance to Sunday's semifinals.
The Blue Jays increased their defensive pressure and held the Bears to 14
points in the second half.
The victory was the 11th in a row for the Blue Jays, who are looking to win their third consecutive MVC Tournament.
The game marked the first time Southwest Missouri (13-16) failed to
make the semifinals since 1995.
Creighton led 31-27 at the half and scored the first seven points of the
second half to extend its lead to 38-27 with just over 16 minutes remaining.
Korver scored six consecutive points to put the game out of reach with eight
minutes remaining. John Klein made a pair of free throws to give Creighton a
59-38 lead with 3:55 remaining in the game. Game summary
Michael Menser's 16 points led Indiana State to a close victory over Southern Illinois.
With Indiana State (19-11) leading 64-62, Menser hit two free throws with
18.4 seconds left to make it 66-62.
Southern Illinois guard Kent Williams scored a lay-up with 12.7 seconds
remaining to narrow the Sycamores' lead to 66-64.
After Kelyn Block made one of two free throws to give Indiana State a
three-point advantage, Williams missed an off-balance 3-pointer with two
seconds remaining.
With the win, fifth-seeded Indiana State advanced to the semifinals of the
MVC Tournament. Southern Illinois (16-14) was the tournament's fourth seed.
Jerome Robinson scored 16 points and Bradley survived a poor shooting performance to defeat Northern Iowa in a Missouri Valley quarterfinal game.
Bradley shot 32.6 percent, its lowest of the season, while Northern Iowa shot 33 percent.
The second-seeded Braves (18-10) advanced to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament.
Northern Iowa (7-24) took the lead in the second half, 29-28, after a basket by Corey Hill. But Bradley reeled off 12 consecutive points to take a 40-29 lead with 9:40 remaining, with guard Phillip Gilbert scoring five during the run.
Northern Iowa went more than 10 minutes without scoring a field goal.
The Panthers shaved the Braves lead to 46-42 but Robinson scored on
consecutive possessions to increase Bradley's lead to 50-42.
Robinson scored eight points, including all four free throws he attempted, in the final three minutes to preserve the win for Bradley.
Tarice Bryson, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the
year, scored 19 points to lead Illinois State to the win over Evansville in
a quarterfinal matchup.
Illinois State (21-7), the third seed in the tournament, advances to the semifinals against Bradley.
Bryson hit a 3-pointer with 2:34 remaining to give the Redbirds their first lead of the game at 77-74. Before Bryson's 3-pointer, Shawn Jeppson scored
seven consecutive points to give the Redbirds life.
Jeppson finished the game with 19 points.
After a basket by Rich Beyers extended the Redbird lead to 79-74, Craig Snow hit a three to get Evansville within two with 1:23 left.
Illinois State got two free throws from Shedrick Ford to give the game its final outcome.
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