| 29 March 2011
In Dana Altman’s return to Creighton, his former team proved too much for the Oregon Ducks as the Bluejays held on for an 84-76 victory in the first game of the CBI Final. Game 2 is Wednesday at Matthew Knight Arena at 7 p.m Pacific Time.
Doug McDermott, the son of coach Greg McDermott, led the way for Creighton by scoring 21 points. Nine of those came during an early second half 12-0 run that put the Bluejays ahead by 17, 58-41. It was a lead they would nearly lose.
Oregon had a balanced attack orchestrated by Joevan Catron, who nearly notched yet another double-double. He scored 15 points and the Ducks had four other players score in double-figures, with Jay-R Strowbridge and Garrett Sim adding 14 and E.J. Singler and Johnathan Loyd chipping in 10 each.
The Ducks stormed back after trailing, but couldn’t get over the hill as Josh Jones and McDermott delivered when it matter, as the Omaha World Herald documented. Jones and McDermott ultimately put the Ducks rally to bed, as Jones hit two three-pointers in the closing minutes and McDermott blocked Singler's layup attempt in the final minute to seal the victory.
"It was just a couple plays here and there where the game could go either way," Catron said, according to The Oregonian. "We just didn't make them. They made an open 3. That pretty much sealed the game. I think that was the play that finished it."
The elder McDermott knew Singler would be tough to handle, comparing him to his older brother and outgoing Duke Blue Devil, Kyle Singler.
"They both shoot the ball extremely well, and E.J. shoots it at least as well as Kyle does,” he said to the Omaha World Herald. “Kyle’s a little bit bigger and maybe better off the dribble, but both certainly are very talented players.”
In an attempt to combat Singler's production, McDermott demanded his team make a concerted effort to get the ball inside. The Omaha World Herald's Steve Takaba documented a scene that exemplified McDermott's emphasis, focusing on an ill-advised play by freshman guard Jahenns Manigat.
"The Creighton freshman guard had nailed three 3-pointers midway through the first half...So when he was well beyond the 3-point arc with no Ducks defender near him, Manigat let another one fly."
This was a bad idea.
"The ball landed out of bounds, an airball that brought... McDermott onto the Qwest Center floor with words for his energetic rookie. 'Throw it inside!' McDermott screamed."
Creighton did often, and it was two players Altman didn't coach at Creighton who sparked his former team. Altman praised the younger McDermott, a freshman who originally committed to Northern Iowa but switched to Creighton when his dad took over as head coach.
“He’s really good,” Altman said, as documented in the aforementioned article. “He’s smooth, he can finish, his instincts are really good. He’s a good basketball player.”
Gregory Echenique and Kenny Lawson also caught Altman's eye, and for good reason. In limited action, Lawson proved why he was on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Defensive team last season. He was called a "really good player" by Altman, while Echenique, a transfer from Rutgers, was "what we thought he could be.”
Altman, heading to his new home to see if his Ducks can even the series, knows these players will continue to be tough to handle. But he's worried about the whole team, as Creighton's balanced effort suggests he should.
"It’s a talented group,” he said in Takaba's piece. "And we’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
photo: daylife
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