SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State (16-8, 6-7 MVC) led from start to finish and snapped a two-game Missouri Valley Conference losing streak with a 70-52 home win over Creighton (12-12, 7-6), Saturday at JQH Arena.

The Bears shot 50.9 percent from the field and dominated the boards with a 40-27 rebounding advantage to claim their first win over Creighton since Feb. 25, 2006. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Bluejays and gave Dana Altman's squad its worst defeat since a 22-point loss at Illinois State on Jan. 3, 2009, 44 games ago.

Missouri State's key to victory came from stepped-up energy and balanced scoring. After a 5-0 start, the Bears went on an 11-1 run midway through the first half to take a 25-11 advantage. MSU led 35-24 at the intermission, and after Kenny Lawson scored his team's first two baskets of the second half, the Bears led by double figures the rest of the way.

Darryl Ashford's field goal with 15:23 to go in the game made it a 41-30 game, but Creighton would not hit another basket until the 8:17 mark as Missouri State took advantage of the Bluejays' 36.5-percent shooting effort for the game to go on a 17-2 run during that stretch and lead 58-32.

Will Creekmore led MSU with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, while Justin Fuehrmeyer scored a season-high 12 points to go with two assists. Kyle Weems and Adam Leonard added 11 points, and Jermaine Mallett knocked down 9 points with 8 rebounds.

Lawson had a game-high 15 points for Creighton, while Josh Jones scored 10.

The Bears made 28-of-55 (.509) field goals and knocked down five three-pointers, including two by Leonard. MSU's only flaw on the night was a 9-for-18 effort at the free throw line, the team's second-worst performance of the season.

Creighton was 19-for-52 (.365) from the field, including 4-of-21 (.190) from beyond the arc. CU's 10-for-17 (.588) effort at the charity stripe trumped MSU's 50-percent output, and both teams committed 11 turnovers.

With the win, Missouri State is now one game out of third place in the MVC. Though league front-runners UNI (12-1) and Wichita State (9-4) claimed wins Saturday, the Bears (6-7) now trail Creighton (7-6), Illinois State (7-6) and Bradley (7-6) by a narrow margin as they sit in sixth place along with Indiana State and Drake.

Cuonzo Martin's squad will host Southern Illinois (13-10, 5-8) in a key Valley game on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. as the Bears wrap a two-game home stand with one of two Valley teams, along with UNI, Martin has yet to defeat.

In the first half, Creekmore and Leonard had eight points apiece to helpd the Bears to a 35-24 halftime lead. A dunk by Creekmore started the scoring for MSU 1:07 into the first half, and then a three-pointer by Mallett put MSU up 5-0. An 11-1 run by the Bears after the under-12-minute media timeout helped the home squad go up 25-11 -- Missouri State's biggest lead of the half -- with 8:28 remaining.

Creighton whittled the lead to seven on a three-pointer by Jones, the Bluejays' only trey of the first period, with 5:07 on the clock. However, baskets by Weems and Creekmore over the next two minutes and solid defense pushed the Bears' lead by to double figures, 31-20. Fuehrmeyer made four straight free throws to close out the half and give the Bears an 11-point lead.