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CARBONDALE, Ill. — Greg McDermott praised point guard Antoine Young's contributions on and off the court for helping pull Creighton out of a three-game nose dive.

Young scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half in helping the Bluejays take control of a game they eventually won 88-69. He dished out eight assists to offset four turnovers, and he added one of Creighton's three steals in the contest at SIU Arena.

Young also helped provide leadership before the game to help pull the Bluejays out of a funk that had some observers starting to question their NCAA tournament-worthiness.

"He's our only senior, and we rely on him a lot," McDermott said. "Antoine's our leader, and I thought he did a great job tonight of finding the big guys in transition, throwing that pass up over the top and letting them go get it.

"That's what a senior is supposed to do. I really liked the way he played tonight. He was in charge of that locker room and talked on the floor. He made good decisions. I thought he was much more valuable than the 15 points he scored tonight."

Young's greatest impact might have come off the court, helping keep the team on an even keel after losses to Northern Iowa, Evansville and Wichita State had cost the Bluejays their spot atop the Missouri Valley standings.

He did it not with some fiery locker-room speech but with a simple reminder.

"I told the guys this is all about having fun," Young said. "If we're not having fun with what we're doing, it's all going to sink. We've been working really hard the last couple of days in getting back to our principles.

"At the same time, we tried to have some fun."

He cited the game of knockout the Bluejays played after Tuesday morning's shootaround. Everyone on the trip participated, including the team's support staff. Doug Ramos, the team physician, won the game.

"We grabbed everyone and had them participate," Young said. "We had a good time. When you're having some fun, it's going to transfer on over to the floor.

"We had to get back to who we are."

Rivalry losing luster

How things have changed in Carbondale.

It wasn't that long ago that a visit by Creighton would incite the Southern Illinois faithful. The two schools battled for Missouri Valley supremacy throughout the 2000s, and the Bluejays knew a visit to SIU Arena would likely result in hearing a lot of words they wouldn't hear in church.

Tuesday's trip ended with a group of SIU students asking Creighton star Doug McDermott for his autograph. He told them he had to get to the locker room, then returned after showering to comply with the request.

Young's first visit to Carbondale came in 2009, when Creighton ended a seven-game losing skid at the arena. The rivalry was starting to lose some of its fire as the Salukis were beginning a downward spiral that has them headed for their fourth losing season in the past five.

"This is way different now," Young said. "I can remember even before I was thinking about playing for Creighton, watching their teams with Randal Falker and Jamaal Tatum. Tatum was like my favorite player when I was younger.

"That team was just tough as nails. And I remember thinking that I would love to play for a coach like Chris Lowery. I loved the way he got them to play."

Salukis coach on the hot seat

Lowery got the Salukis to the Sweet 16 in 2007 and earned a big contract extension. He has two years remaining on the pact, and it's no secret that with attendance falling and wins disappearing, he might not get a chance to finish it out.

A seat that has been hot the past couple of seasons for Lowery is turning into an inferno. He likes the young talent he has on this team, but he knows there is a chance he might not be around next season to coach it.

After he finished with his postgame press conference, Lowery walked out the door to find his son waiting for him. The young boy was crying, and Lowery wrapped his arm around his son's shoulder and tried to console him.

CU sets Valley shooting record

• Creighton's 77.5 percent field-goal shooting broke the school record of 65.9 percent set against Drake in 2007. It also broke the Valley record set in 1984 by Bradley, is the top mark in the country this season and ranks 20th overall in NCAA history.

• The Bluejays also set the school record for 3-point percentage (.857). The record had been .733 against Illinois-Chicago in a 1987 game.

• Doug McDermott, who sat out the last 10½ minutes of the first half in foul trouble, finished with 18 points to push his season total to 613. He became the 10th player in Creighton history to score 600 points in a season and the ninth player in league history to score 600 or more.

• Creighton avoided its first four-game losing skid in Valley play since 1995.

• The Bluejays won their ninth straight game against Southern Illinois and improved to 9-3 this season in true road games.

— Steven Pivovar

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