Indiana State Indiana St/Creighton Creighton Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Michael Menser had a career-high 32 points and seven assists as fifth-seeded Indiana State beat top seed Creighton 87-74 Sunday, advancing to the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Kelyn Block added 20 points and Terence Avery had 14 off the bench for Indiana State (20-11), which advanced to the final for the first time since 1979, Larry Bird's senior season. Indiana State, which shot 52 percent, won the conference title and lost to Creighton (24-7) in the tournament semifinals last season.

Indiana State, which also beat No. 4 seed Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals, will play the winner of the Illinois State-Bradley game later Sunday in Monday's championship game. The winner gets the Valley's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The end of Creighton's 11-game winning streak should give the Valley two teams in the NCAAs. Kyle Korver had 22 points for the Bluejays, who are considered a lock with an RPI rating of 23.

Ben Walker added 19 points for Creighton, which beat Indiana State twice during the regular season and hadn't lost since a 61-52 setback at Evansville Jan. 24. The Bluejays, who won the last two tournament titles, missed a chance to set a school season record for victories.

Menser, who entered the game averaging 13 points, keyed a 16-2 run that put Indiana State ahead 48-39 with 16:43 to go. He scored the last eight points of the first half, including a 3-pointer from well beyond the line at the buzzer for a five-point lead at the break.

Menser, who also scored off a drive to open the second half, topped his previous career best of 24 points in a loss at Ball State in December. He was 9-for-18 overall, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range, and was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.

Send this story to a friend

ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard

Indiana State Clubhouse

Creighton Clubhouse