The No. 12 Creighton Bluejays returned home on Saturday to host the Bradley University Braves in a game whose impact was felt in more than just the respective teams’ win-loss column.

As part of a nationwide Coaches vs. Cancer promotion as well as a local Creighton vs. Cancer effort, the Jays players wore special pink-trimmed jerseys and warm-ups. The coaches also sported pink in the form of sneakers with their suits. The game was dubbed a “Pink Out” and fans were encouraged to show up and support the fight against cancer by wearing pink.

“I think it’s all positive. It’s beyond basketball,” junior guard Josh Jones said of the event.

Jays fans got the notice as Creighton notched its fourth sell-out of the season. 18,436 showed up in their pink, and packed the CenturyLink Center; setting the record for the largest home crowd in Creighton history.

“It was awesome. When I came out of the tunnel and saw the pink it took me aback for a second,” head coach Greg McDermott said. “As I told the team before, this is more than a game.”

Creighton won the first meeting between the two teams back on Jan. 7 by the score of 92-83 behind sophomore forward Doug McDermott’s career-high 44 points.

The Jays were less than 100 percent healthy this time around, however, as sophomore guard Jahenns Manigat was dealing with a knee injury that limited him to just 13 minutes of action. Also, junior guard Grant Gibbs was recovering from an illness that kept him from practicing during the days leading up to the game. Even Doug McDermott was dealing with a sore back Jones said.

But despite the injuries and some sloppy play that resulted in 19 team turnovers, the Jays emerged victorious by a a score of 73-59 behind a strong performance from the starting frontcourt.

The Jays started slow and trailed 11-5 after the first five minutes of the game before a Doug McDermott layup sparked an 8-0 run that gave Creighton its first lead of the game. That 8-0 run turned into a 13-2 run after a rim-rocking dunk by junior center Gregory Echenique, and then into an 18-4 run after a 3-pointer by Jones made the score 23-15 in Creighton’s favor. The Jays stretched the lead to 12 points with 2:29 remaining in the half before Bradley closed out the half on a 7-0 run to make it 33-28 at intermission.

Doug McDermott and Echenique combined for 20 points and 11 rebounds on 9-11 shooting in the first half, while guard Dyricus Sims-Edwards poured in 16 points on 6-8 shooting for the Braves.

Creighton built the lead back up to 12 points on a Gibbs two-handed dunk and one, just over six minutes into the half. The Braves refused to crumble though and cut it to three points with 10 minutes remaining.

The Jays responded with a tough layup by Doug McDermott followed by 3-pointers by freshman guard Avery Dingman and sophomore forward Ethan Wragge that stretched the lead back to 11. The Braves would get no closer than nine points for the rest of the game.

Doug McDermott lead all scorers with 24 points. Echenique finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds; his third double-double of the season. Jones stepped up when the team needed him and put forth his finest performance of the season with 14 points and four assists.

“We needed somebody to step up and I thought Josh did a terrific job,” Greg McDermott said of Jones’ performance.

Greg McDermott also praised Jones’ defense in the second half on Sims-Edwards who scored just three points on 1-8 shooting after torching Creighton in the first. Forward Taylor Brown, who put 25 on the board in the teams’ first meeting, scored 16 points but was held to just 5-14 shooting from the field.

The win was Creighton’s 20th of the season, making this the 13th time in the last 14 years Creighton has reached that mark. It also marks Creighton’s 16th straight season with 10 or more conference victories. It also put Creighton alone atop the MVC standings as Wichita State University lost in triple overtime to Drake University. But the Jays aren’t taking their success for granted.

“We’re one game at a time, one practice at a time and the results are happening on the floor,” Jones said.

Creighton returns to the court on Wednesday to face the Illinois State University Redbirds. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be shown locally on NET.

A few days before, the No. 14 Creighton men’s basketball team took the short drive down I-80 to take on the Drake Bulldogs for the second time this season. In the first meeting, the Bluejays got an easy 76-59 win. The Bulldogs, led by sophomore guard Rayvonte Rice, would put up more of a fight this time around.

Despite Rice’s 23 points and 11 rebounds, Creighton hit free throws down the stretch to pull away and win 77-69.

The Bluejays struck first and held a lead for the first 10 minutes of the game before Drake pulled ahead on a bucket by guard Ben Simons. Creighton regained the lead on a jumper by Doug McDermott 10 seconds later that started a 10-0 run by the Jays to make the score 26-19.

The lead swelled to as big as 15 points after a pair of free throws by Echenique before Drake went on a 4-0 run to end the first half and make it a 37-26 game.

After halftime, Drake cut the lead to two with 13:23 remaining. Creighton built the lead back up to 10 multiple times but could not expand it any further as the Bulldogs continued to fight back to a six-point deficit.

Then Doug McDermott took over, scoring 10 straight Creighton points to hold the ‘Dogs’ at bay and maintain the lead for Creighton. Up six points with just over one minute remaining, Drake began to foul to stop the clock. Free throws have caused problems for Creighton in the past but the Jays hit six of their eight attempts in the final minute and held Drake to just four points.

Doug McDermott lead the Jays with 30 points and nine rebounds, while Echenique put in 11 points and seven rebounds despite being limited to just 17 minutes because of foul trouble. Manigat rounded out Creighton’s double-figure scorers by connecting on five of his seven 3-point attempts for 15 points. Freshman center Will Artino gave the Jays a boost off the bench in his finest performance of the conference season with six points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes of play.