Dec. 19, 2001
Western Kentucky 95, Creighton 61
RECORDS:
Western Kentucky "Hilltoppers" - 8-2 Overall
Creighton "Bluejays" - 5-3 Overall
PLAY-BY-PLAY HIGHLIGHTS:
First Half - David Boyden scores first two baskets of the game to give Western a 4-0 lead at 18:16 ... Brody Deren layup gives Bluejays first points of game at 18:09 ... Boyden adds two more layups as Hilltoppers go on 10-0 run, WKU leads 14-2 with 14:48 to go ... Joe Dabbert ends CU drought with bucket at 14:22 (WKU 14-4) ... Larry House three-point play closes gap, Toppers lead 16-9 with 13:39 remaining ... House called for technical foul at 12:28, Mike Wells makes both free throws to push Western lead to 18-9 ... Patrick Sparks' steal and layup give WKU 23-11 advantage at 10:01 ... Toppers lead 30-16 with 7:50 left after layup by Todor Pandov, forcing CU to use first time out ... Wells pull-up jumper at 4:08 extends Hilltopper lead to 39-23 ... After Jimmy Motz makes 2 of 3 free throws at 3:46, Western scores next nine points to make lead 48-25 with 1:04 to go - Derek Robinson and Sparks both hit three-pointers in that span ... Deren has two baskets in final 47 seconds, sandwiched around a Caleb Halcomb free throw, to make score 49-29 at the break.
Second Half - Deren has first points of half for Creighton with dunk, score is 49-31 with 19:42 left ... Boyden answers with trey at other end (WKU 52-31, 18:57) ... Raynardo Curry adds a layup and Boyden makes a turnaround jumper, Toppers have 56-31 lead with 16:47 remaining ... Deren makes one of two free throws, score is 58-35 WKU at first media time out (15:46) ... Hilltoppers score 8 of the next 12 points, four on Boyden layups, and lead 67-39 with 12:20 to go ... Pandov three-point play gives Western 77-45 edge at next media time out (7:59) ... Pandov scores five straight points, Hilltoppers lead 84-47 with 6:42 left ... Wells' three from the right wing makes score 89-51 at 4:24 ... Caleb Halcomb dunk gives Toppers 91-53 advantage with 3:23 remaining ... Pandov layup with 51 seconds to go gives WKU final points and 95-57 lead ... Michael Lindeman closes out scoring with two free throws at 0:35.
COACH'S QUOTES:
WKU Head Coach Dennis Felton - "I'm very excited about the way we played tonight, and the promise that we showed. It's not often that you're able to dismantle a team that has the ability, pedigree and character of Creighton. ... We felt we had a better handle on them coming into this game for obvious reasons. I thought we were on target all night with defending their stuff. They rarely got a chance to get high-quality shots. ... Offensively, we continued to make progress in getting good shots for each other. It was a really good night us."
NOTES
* Hilltoppers avenge a 94-91 double-overtime loss to the Bluejays in Omaha on Nov. 27
* WKU's second four-game wining streak of the season
* David Boyden ties a career high with 19 points (first set at Middle Tennessee on Feb. 1 last year), leading five WKU players in double figures
* Todor Pandov scores a career-best 16
* Patrick Sparks has 13 points and seven assists (with only one turnover), his team-best fifth straight game in double figures (he and Mike Wells share the team lead with seven double-digit efforts on the season)
* Caleb Halcomb ties a career high with six points and sets another with seven rebounds
* WKU has season-best 23 assists against a season-low nine turnovers - it's the first time since a 68-51 win over Florida International in the opening round of last year's Sun Belt Conference Tournament on March 5 that the Hilltoppers have had fewer than 10 turnovers
* Western shoots a season-high 58.3 percent from the field - that's the fifth time in 10 games the Toppers have shot better than 50 percent from the floor
* Hilltoppers hold fifth opponent below 40 percent from the field, as Creighton shoots 35.3 percent (18-51)
* Brody Deren and Terrell Taylor lead the Bluejays with 15 points apiece, Deren posts a team-high eight rebounds
* CU shoots a season-low 17.6 percent from three-point range (3-17)
* Creighton is first team to outrebound the Hilltoppers this season (33-30).
NEXT GAME
WKU begins a four-game road trip at Southern Mississippi Saturday at 7 p.m. in Hattiesburg, Miss.
The Bluejays returns home to play host to Xavier at 4:05 p.m. Saturday.
