OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Doug McDermott scored a career-high 28 points and hauled down 10 rebounds as Creighton dominated inside play to defeat Drake 73-57 on Saturday night.
McDermott, a 6-foot-7 freshman forward, made 9 of 12 shots for the Bluejays (10-4, 2-0 Missouri Valley), who outrebounded the Bulldogs (6-6, 1-1) 45-24. Center Kenny Lawson had 16 rebounds to go with his 14 points for Creighton, which got 15 points from Antoine Young.
Kurt Alexander had 12 points to lead Drake, which took a 19-11 lead midway through the first half. But Lawson, the preseason Missouri Valley player of the year, made a 3-pointer to ignite an 8-0 run that allowed Creighton to tie the game, and the Blue Jays went on to build a 33-26 advantage by halftime.
McDermott took over in the second half, scoring 16 of his 28 points as Creighton held a double-digit lead for most of the final 20 minutes.
Drake struggled from the field, shooting just 36 percent (21 of 59) while Creighton made 46 percent (22 of 48) of its shots.