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  Monday, Mar. 6 9:00pm ET
Tourney MVP Sears leads Bluejays
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Ryan Sears led a Creighton attack of 3-pointers that broke down Southwest Missouri State. But the Bluejays' defense might have been just as important in winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship.

"We work on defense a lot," Sears said after hitting four 3-pointers to help Creighton beat the Bears 57-45 to win the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.

Donnie Johnson
Creighton's Donnie Johnson waves a championship T-shirt after the Bluejays won the Missouri Valley Conference title.

"I thought defensively we played really hard," said Bluejays coach Dana Altman. "(I'm) really proud of their defensive hustle."

Sears was selected as the most valuable player as the Blue Jays (23-9) set a Missouri Valley season record for 3-pointers with 277, breaking the record of 268 set by Southern Illinois in 1995-96.

The Bluejays made nine 3-pointers in the game after hitting seven on Sunday to upset top-seeded Indiana State.

The Bears shot 34.6 percent for the game. At one stage, they missed 11 straight shots.

"This team takes pride in the way our defense plays," said Donnie Johnson.

Southwest Missouri fell to 22-10, but remains in contention for an at-large bid to the NCAAs. The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak by the Bears.

"I'll be amazed if we're not in the NCAA Tournament Sunday," Bears coach Barry Hinson said.

Sears, playing with a dislocated finger on his left hand, made three 3-pointers in the first half to help Creighton to a 35-20 lead at halftime.

Matt West added 11 points and three 3-pointers.

Creighton, which has now won five games in a row, held Southwest Missouri scoreless during a stretch of 7:18 of the opening half.

Creighton returns to the NCAA Tournament a year after upsetting Louisville in the opening round before falling to Maryland in the second round.

With Sears leading the way, Creighton put together runs of 11-0 and 13-0 in the opening half on the way to a 35-20 lead. Sears and Kyle Korver combined for three 3-pointers in a span of 1:47 midway through the half to erase an early 11-4 deficit. Korver, Sears and West keyed a 13-0 spurt later in the half.

Johnson scored three points in the first two minutes of the second half to push the lead to 38-20. Southwest Missouri battled back to 43-36 with 17:04 left before Sears silenced the comeback with another 3-point shot. West's 3-pointer with 5:48 remaining put Creighton back in control 52-38.

Kevin Ault, Matt Rueter and Scott Brakebill led Southwest Missouri with eight points each.
 


ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard

Creighton Clubhouse

SW Missouri State Clubhouse


AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Donnie Johnson blows by the competition.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Kyle Korver and Creighton play some serious defense.
avi: 839 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1