Saturday, January 10, 2009

Hell Of A Win

All heart tonight Creighton....an all out effort.  No Booker Woodfox due to an ankle injury.  P'Allen Stinnet shooting 4 for 13 with 4 turnovers.  Yet the Jays went into Carver Arena to take on the 1st place Braves and won 73-64.  5 players had 9 or more points and Freshman Antoine Young played his best game as Jay.  It was a really big win and it saved the Jays' regular season championship hopes. 

Creighton shot 54% in the 2nd half and held Bradley to just 34%.  Yes, the Jays got outrebounded again - by 2 - but that is acceptable on the road.  The big stat was the play of the Kenny Lawson Jr. who had 4 offensive boards and 8 rebounds overall.  He added the inside presence that the Jays HAVE to have.  

I will say it again:  This year will hinge on the play of the Jays' Sophomores shoulders.  They needed a big game out of Kenny - and got one tonight.  It was a huge heart effort for the Jays as a team...not like one player in games before.  Booker Woodfox being out might have been the best thing for this young team to see that they can do it without him. 

After watching the game again - Antoine Young set the tone for the Jays in this game.  He gave the team a shot in the arm in the same way he did in the first half against UNI.  I think Dana just got his answer as to whether or not he can trust AY.  Antoine hit his first 2 3's of the year after missing his first 11 - something that shouldn't be overlooked for his confidence.  Playing that well on the road should really help him go up against a tough SIU team on Wednesday.  Now the question - which point guard sits to let AY play more?  

Now, Indiana St beat the Redbirds tonight.  Bradley is 4-1.  UNI won as well and is 4-1.  The Jays are 3-2 and so is Illinois St.  Let the Valley craziness begin.  

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