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Drake Loses to No. 15 Creighton 77-69

Sports

January 26th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Drake got big nights from its two stars, Rayvonte Rice and Ben Simons, and put a significant scare into No. 15 Creighton. Doug McDermott and the Bluejays were just too much for the Bulldogs to handle, keeping Drake from moving closer to the Missouri Valley’s elite. McDermott scored 30 points and No. 15 Creighton held off Drake 77-69 on Wednesday night for its sixth straight road win. Jahenns Manigat added 15 for the Bluejays (19-2, 9-1 MVC), who have the program’s longest road winning streak in 37 years. Creighton let a 15-point lead dwindle to two early in the second half against the Bulldogs. But McDermott helped keep the Bulldogs from getting any closer, scoring 10 straight points late in the half. Rice had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead Drake (12-9, 5-5), getting his seventh 20-point game of the season. Ben Simons added 18 and Kurt Alexander added 16 points off the bench. Creighton never trailed in the second half in winning its ninth straight overall.