No. 14 Creighton rolls early, tops Longwood 105-57

[November 21, 2012]  OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Doug McDermott and Gregory Echenique scored 17 points apiece to lead four Creighton players in double figures, and the 14th-ranked Bluejays defeated Longwood 105-57 on Tuesday night.

Ethan Wragge and Will Artino each added 13 points for the Bluejays (4-0), who have won all their games this season by at least 20 points.

Jeylani Dublin had 19 points and Tristan Carey 14 for Longwood (0-4), which has been outscored by an average of 38 points a game.

McDermott, the Bluejays' returning All-American, missed three shots, had another blocked and threw away a pass in the first four minutes. He went to the bench for about a minute, and upon returning he hit a 3-pointer and his next four shots, including a tip-in at the buzzer for a 53-24 halftime lead.

The Bluejays went on a 15-2 run to go ahead by double digits less than seven minutes into the game. Wragge hit two straight 3-pointers and Josh Jones followed with another to end a 19-2 run that made it 44-19 late in the half.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott sat his starters for the night after the Bluejays had a 40-point lead with 8:51 left.

Creighton has won its first four games by 20, 27, 29 and 48 points. The Bluejays take a big step up in competition when they play Wisconsin on Friday in the Las Vegas Invitational. The Badgers were ranked 22nd last week before dropping out of the Top 25.

Longwood, coming off a 112-63 loss at Arkansas two nights earlier, was grossly overmatched in this one.

It didn't help the Lancers that freshman Michael Kessens, who averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds in the their first three games, picked up his fourth foul with 4:24 left in the first half and fouled out less than two minutes into the second.

Kessens had the task of guarding center Echenique. Both are 6 feet 9, but the 205-pound Kessens gives up 55 pounds to Echenique.

Echenique came into the game having made a combined 13 of 14 field goals the first three games, and the Bluejays fed him in the post to exploit the matchup. He made 5 of 7 shots during his best outing of the season.

The Bluejays have won 93 straight home games when scoring 70 or more points and 42 regular-season November games in a row.

[Associated Press; By ERIC OLSON]

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