Wichita State took a double-digit lead late in the first half and shut down Creighton star Doug McDermott for nearly the entire game.
Even so, that wasn't quite enough for the Shockers.
Limited to 22 points in the second half, Wichita State faded Saturday and lost to the No. 21 Bluejays 68-61.
''Holding them to 68 should have been good enough to win,'' Wichita State Gregg Marshall said. ''I'm really disappointed in our (offensive) execution in the second half.''
''That's where we lost the game,'' he said.
The Bluejays (11-2, 1-1 Missouri Valley) were held to more than 16 points under their average. McDermott scored only 12 points, less than half his season average.
Antoine Young led the Bluejays with 19 points. Teammate Grant Gibbs had 11 points, all in the second half, and six assists, while Gregory Echenique added 12.
Carl Hall led the Shockers (10-3, 1-1) with 17 points and 13 rebounds. He also physically hounded McDermott in holding him to 4 of 9 shooting.
McDermott had a 3-pointer during a 14-3 run that put Creighton ahead 49-47 with 11:02 left. Grant Gibbs and Josh Jones added 3s during an 11-2 burst that made it 60-51 with 5:42 to play.
Hall tried to rally the Shockers. He scored four straight points, and a foul shot by Toure Murry pulled Wichita State within 62-59 with 1:31 remaining.
Young sealed the victory for Creighton. He finished 8 of 10 from the foul line.
''It was great to see those guys step up,'' Doug McDermott said. ''I knew they were going to focus on me. I knew I had to impact winning a different way.''
Said Greg McDermott: ''Once we figured out what they were doing with Doug, we were able to spread things out.''
After going 13 of 17 on free throws in the first half, Wichita State was just 5 of 8 in the second half. The Shockers were 1 of 14 from the 3-point line after halftime.
''Creighton deserves some credit for that shooting,'' Marshall said. ''Shots that have been going down, shots we need to go down to be successful, just weren't there.''
The Bluejays enjoyed a fast start, taking a 14-5 lead on Ethan Wragge's 3-point shot. Creighton's defense had the Shockers befuddled, and Wichita State made just two of its first 13 shots.
Eight points from Echenique helped Creighton lead 19-12 with 9:17 remaining in the half. That's when Wichita State made a move. The Shockers went on a 9-1 run that included only one field goal and a technical foul on Creighton's bench.
Wichita State took control with 12 straight points late in the half. Murry's driving bank shot gave the Shockers a 39-28 lead with 1:42 left in the half.
''It was like there was three components to the game,'' Marshall said. ''And their two, at the beginning and the end, overshadowed our one. They deserved to win the game, win on our floor.''
