Salukis win 15th straight

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Darren Brooks had 14 points and hit a late jumper to lead No. 16 Southern Illinois to its 15th straight victory, 68-60 Tuesday night against Creighton.

Southern Illinois (23-2, 16-0 Missouri Valley) has already won the conference title, its third straight. The Salukis are two wins away from finishing with a perfect record in the league for the first time in school history.

The Salukis nearly blew a 17-point lead in the second half.

Creighton (19-6, 11-5) had cut the deficit to 61-58 when Brooks made a long jumper with 1:36 remaining. After a steal by Stetson Hairston, Brooks made a free throw to extend the lead back to six points with a minute left.

LaMar Owen had 12 points for Southern Illinois, and Brad Korn and Hairston 10 apiece.

The winning streak is the school's best a Walt Frazier-led team won 19 in a row in 1966-67 and the NIT title.

Southern Illinois led 18-15 when a 13-2 run extended the margin to 14. Bryan Turner started the spurt with a 3-pointer, and Owen scored eight straight points during the run.

Hairston hit a 3 from the corner with five seconds left to give the Salukis a 40-25 halftime lead. Southern Illinois forced 12 turnovers in the first half.

The loss likely ended any hope of Creighton receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Creighton had made the NCAA tourney each of the past five seasons, a streak matched by only one other team in the conference's history.