ESPN Men's Basketball

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Johnny Mathies scored a career-high 29 points and Creighton benefited from 31 Nebraska turnovers in a 70-44 victory Sunday in the annual meeting of the state's Division I basketball programs.

The Bluejays (4-2) won their seventh straight regular-season game against the Cornhuskers -- Nebraska won a National Invitation Tournament game in 2004 -- and they posted their second-largest victory margin in the series. The Huskers lead the series 22-17.

Creighton came into the game with only eight scholarship players available. Top scorer Nate Funk (shoulder), Jimmy Motz (stress fracture) and Pierce Hibma (knee) all were out.

But Nebraska (6-2), playing its first road game, couldn't take advantage. The Huskers fell behind 31-11 by halftime after committing 17 turnovers and shooting 15.4 percent.

Creighton's lead stretched to 27 points seven minutes into the second half.

Nick Porter added 13 points for Creighton.

Joe McCray and Jamel White had eight points each for Nebraska, which shot 27 percent for the game. The Bluejays were only slightly better, at 30 percent, but Creighton committed only 11 turnovers.

After trailing 44-17 with less than nine minutes to play, the Huskers used a 13-0 run to close within 14. The rally included two 3-pointers by McCray and two field goals by B.J. Walker.

But there was no stopping Mathies, who slowed the rally with two free throws and a 3-pointer. The Huskers didn't get closer than 13 the rest of the way and were outscored 17-5 in the final five minutes.

The crowd of 15,621 was the largest ever to watch a basketball game in Nebraska.