Wichita State upsets Creighton in MVC duel
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Carl Hall had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Malcolm Armstead hit two key free throws in the closing seconds to help Wichita State hold off beat Doug McDermott and No. 10 Creighton 67-64 on Saturday to forge a tie atop the Missouri Valley.
Cleanthony Early added 13 points and Demetric Williams had 10 for the Shockers (17-2, 6-1 MVC), who pushed their home-court winning streak to 17 games.
McDermott finished with 25 points for the Bluejays (17-2, 6-1), but he never got the ball with the game on the line. Instead, Ethan Wragge misfired on a potential tying 3 with 6 seconds left, and then had another chance when Hall missed two free throws at the other end.
This time, Wragge’s shot from the top of the key clanked off the back of the rim.
Grant Gibbs finished with 14 points for the Bluejays, who trailed almost the entire way while having their 11-game winning streak snapped. Creighton hadn’t lost since Nov. 28.
Hall gave the Shockers a 65-63 lead when he made the second of two free throws with 48.3 seconds left, but Gibbs — a 67 percent free throw shooter — only made one of two with 25.3 seconds to go, allowing the Shockers to cling to a lead and forcing Creighton to foul.
Wichita State got the ball to Anthony on the inbounds, and after getting fouled, he calmly made both free throws for a 67-64 lead with 15.3 seconds left.
That set up Wragge’s two misfires, the second as the final horn sounded.
It was little surprise that a game between last season’s regular-season champion, Wichita State, and tournament champion Creighton would come down to the wire. They have played 29 games decided by 12 or fewer points since 1994-95.
The Shockers were thankful to have Hall back in the lineup.
The senior forward had energy to burn after missing seven games with a thumb injury, at one point scoring six straight points for the Shockers underneath. Later in the half, he missed two layups and got two offensive boards before finally scoring for a 25-19 lead.
Hall was also doing his duty … [For more on Wichita State upsets No. 10 Creighton in MVC duel, click here.]
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