Mizzou’s Frankie Hughes scores 22 in ‘secret’ scrimmage at Creighton

During the first half of a “secret” scrimmage Sunday at Creighton, Missouri held its own against Greg McDermott’s veteran squad at Omaha’s CenturyLink Center.

The Tigers played the Bluejays to a 41-41 stalemate behind freshman forward Frankie Hughes’s 12 first-half points.

Creighton, expected to be a tourney contender after finishing 20-15 last season and reaching the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament, outscored Mizzou 45-31 in the second half.

Hughes finished with a team-high 22 points, going 9 of 21 from the field. This was MU’s final tune-up before an exhibition at 7 p.m. Friday against third-year coach Kim Anderson’s former team, Central Missouri, at Mizzou Arena.

Freshman forward Willie Jackson and sophomore forward Kevin Puryear each scored 12 points and combined afor 15 rebounds.

Sophomore point guard Terrence Phillips finished with 10 points and team-highs of 10 rebounds and six assists.

The Tigers led 32-28 late in the first half on consecutive three-pointers by sophomore guard Cullen VanLeer.

The Bluejays rallied before halftime and pulled even in the second half by going to the free-throw line 29 times.

Mizzou, which committed 21 second-half fouls, went to the line just 12 times

During a preseason scrimmage in Columbia before last season, Creighton won by 30 points.

NCAA rules bar media and the public from attending closed scrimmages, and publicity only is allowed after the game has concluded.

This story was originally published October 30, 2016 at 9:02 PM with the headline "Mizzou’s Frankie Hughes scores 22 in ‘secret’ scrimmage at Creighton."