ST. LOUIS- Wichita State came back from 12 down in the second half, but fell to Creighton 68-65 in the MVC Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon at the Scottrade Center.

Malcolm Armstead scored a career-high 28 points, shooting 10-for-20 from the field and 4-for-9 from behind the arc. He also pulled down nine rebounds and handed out three assists. Carl Hall added 13 points and six rebounds for Wichita State.

Jahenns Manigat led Creighton in scoring with 16 points. Ethan Wragge added 15 while Doug McDermott had 14.  

Both teams started the game slow on offense with the Bluejays opening up a 6-1 lead at the 14:13 mark of the first half. Nick Wiggins got Wichita State its first field goal a minute later with a steal and layup to cut the lead to 6-3.

The offense picked up as Creighton jumped out to a 19-7 lead on an 8-0 run that was capped by an Ethan Wragge 3-pointer. Malcolm Armstead would not let the Shockers go away, hitting back-to-back treys and fueling a 12-2 run by Wichita State to pull within three, 21-19 with 5:42 remaining in the half. Armstead scored 10 of the 12 points during the run.

Carl Hall tied the game at 24 at the 2:56 mark with an old-fashioned 3-point play and less than a minute later, Armstead hit consecutive layups to give Wichita State their first lead of the game, 28-27.

Creighton took a 30-28 into halftime led by 12 points on four 3-pointers from Wragge. Armstead led the way for Wichita State with 18 points and four rebounds, scoring 16 over the last eight minutes of the half.

Doug McDermott scored four straight points early in the second half to give the Bluejays a seven-point lead, 37-30 with 16:53 remaining. Tekele Cotton pulled the Shockers back within four with a 3-pointer on the next possession.

At the 11:18 mark, Grant Gibbs hit the fourth 3-pointer of the half for Creighton to put the Bluejays up 52-43. Five minutes later, McDermott stretched the lead to 12 with a pair of free throws, 60-48.

The Shockers cut the lead to four with 1:44 remaining in the game with a 7-0 run. Armstead hit a shot from behind the arc and after a block by Carl Hall on the defensive end, Ron Baker hit a 3-pointer of his own. Hall's free throw put the score at 66-62.

After Armstead cut the lead to one on another long 3-pointer, Jahenns Manigat drove to the basket for a layup to put Creighton up 68-65 with 12 seconds remaining in the game. Armstead was unable to make a shot at the buzzer and Creighton went on to win.

-WICHITA STATE-