Creighton 65, Wichita St. 63

2/2/2008 9:31 PM

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -After fading late in its previous three Missouri Valley Conference games, Creighton closed with a flurry Saturday to snap its three-game losing skid with a 65-63 win over Wichita State.

The Bluejays (15-6), who trailed by 15 midway through the second half, outscored Wichita State 26-9 over the final nine minutes.

Cavel Witter led Creighton's comeback with 14 second-half points.

But it was a tip-in by Dane Watts with 16 seconds left that put the Jays on top to stay at 63-62.

Shocker point guard Gal Mekel, who led all scorers with 20 points, was whistled for a charge on the ensuing possession.

Witter hit two free throws at the other end to extend the lead to three. Josh Dotzler ended Wichita State's chances by fouling J.T. Durley with less than a second remaining before Durley could attempt a potential game-tying 3-pointer.

Durley made the first foul shot and missed the second purposely. Watts secured the rebound for Creighton to preserve the win.

Wichita State (9-13, 2-9) led 33-21 at the half after holding the Jays without a field goal for more than 13 minutes.

Creighton hit six of its first seven shots, then missed its next 10 as the Shockers went on a 19-2 run to take an 11-point lead

The lead grew to 15 on a putback by Durley with 9:08 to play. But the Jays hit seven of their eight 3-point attempts in the second half to improve to 6-5 in league play.