SAN ANTONIO — It speaks volumes that despite Louisiana-Lafayette bending its will to try and stop — or at least slow — Doug McDermott, he still carried Creighton for most of Friday’s 76-66 West Regional second-round NCAA Tournament win. It also speaks volumes his teammates they returned the favor when they needed to.
Third-seeded Creighton took 14th-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette’s best shot, falling behind in the second half, buckling but never folding. The Bluejays responded, retaking the lead with Ethan Wraggle’s clutch shooting and 10 straight points. Finally, it was McDermott — who had game-highs of 30 points and 12 rebounds without a single turnover — who landed the knockout punch at AT&T Center.
Wragge hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a 10-0 run that put Creighton ahead for good at 56-50. With the Bluejays (27-7) still clinging to a four-point lead with just over two minutes left, McDermott drilled a straight-away 3 to send his team into Sunday’s matchup against Baylor in the third round, where they have lost the last two years.
“It feels great to be back in this position,” McDermott said. “We’ve been in this position, this will be our third straight year where we’ve gotten to this game. We failed the last two to get past this round. It’s what I came back for. It’s why we’re all playing; it’s what we work for in the offseason, to get to this point. We’re hoping to make a better outcome this year than we did the previous two.’’
Creighton almost had a worse outcome, with Sun Belt Tournament champ Louisiana-Lafayette (23-12) attacking on the glass and taking the momentum. After McDermott’s jumper gave the Bluejays a 46-41 lead with 16:13 left, they went on a 4:31 scoreless drought. A hybrid box-and-one and great defense from Elfrid Payton (24 points, eight boards) slowed McDermott, and the Rajin’ Cajuns went on a 9-0 run.
“We wanted some other guys to try to beat us,” Payton said. “You know that McDermott’s going to get his. We were just trying to make some other guys make some plays. Coming into the game we felt like it was in reach.’’
Payton’s layup put Louisiana up 50-46, until senior Grant Gibbs’ jumper ended the run and keyed a Creighton spurt. Wragge got free for consecutive 3s, including one that bounced up and rattled in. Gibbs’ foul shots made it 56-50, and McDermott’s 3 with 2:06 left sealed it.
“Up until that point I was like 1-for-6, and they were all good looks. But my teammates did a good job,’’ Wragge said. “Jahenns [Manigat] had a wide ‑open layup that he ended up kicking out to me. Once I got that rhythm and got one going, I was able to get a friendly roll on the second one. The third one, that’s just a play we’ve been running. They were timely, but they were all good.
“This is the point in the tournament we wanted to get back to. The last two years we’ve been bounced from it. It’s finally here almost. We’re really excited, and we’re going to be ready to go.’’
McDermott said Creighton patterns itself after the NBA’s Spurs, the selfless team that plays at the AT&T Center. He has 30 or more points in four of Creighton’s last five games, and at least 20 in his last four NCAA Tournament games. Can he get the Bluejays past the long-armed zone defense of Baylor?
“It’s going to be a fun battle,’’ McDermott said. “We’re both fighting for a lot.’’