SIUC and Creighton University’s Rodney Buford appeared to be headed for different fates Saturday night.

Just when it seemed the Salukis had no chance for a comeback after trailing 42-21 in the first half, SIUC rallied to tie the game at 61 with 51 seconds left. After a solid first half, Buford scored just two points after halftime while struggling with a 4-for-16 shooting performance.

But destiny was with Buford and his Bluejay teammates. The 6-foot-5 junior drove to the lane on an inbounds play and scored the game-winning points on a right-handed runner over Saluki senior forward Rashad Tucker.

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SIUC had one last chance, but junior guard Monte Jenkins’ three-point attempt hit the back of the rim at the buzzer, giving Creighton a 63-61 win at SIU Arena in front of 3,212 fans.

Buford, who finished five points under his average with 13, said the winning bucket was one he knew he had to take.

I wanted the ball, Buford said. I felt that I could take my man off the dribble. Coach [Altman] designed a play for me to do it, and I just came through.

Creighton won its third straight road game, improving to 13-6 overall and 7-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. SIUC fell to 9-11 overall and 4-6 in conference play.

SIUC coach Rich Herrin said Jenkins’ game-winning attempt was the right shot in the situation.

He came awful close to hitting it, Herrin said. It just didn’t go down. I think he thought that was a shot that he could hit. He got a good look. It did everything but go down.

The matchup started out more like a track meet than a college basketball game. The Bluejays made everything in sight, racking up an 85 percent shooting mark from the field in rolling out to an 42-21 lead with 3:13 left in the first half.

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Freshman guard Ryan Sears led the attack by making four of six three-pointers in the first half for 12 points. Buford added nine while junior guard Corie Brandon chipped in eight.

We shot it so well early, Creighton coach Dana Altman said. You knew they were going to come back at some point and time, and you knew we weren’t going to continue to shoot it that well.

Creighton did cool down while going scoreless for the rest of the half. SIUC closed the gap to 42-29 on six free throws from Tucker.

In the second half, the Salukis shut down the Bluejays’ offense and slowly crept back. The Salukis took a 54-53 lead with seven minutes left on a bucket by Jenkins, but the Bluejays took a 61-59 lead with 2:32 remaining.

Both teams traded possessions and fouls until sophomore forward Chris Thunell found Tucker wide open on a long pass for a reverse layup and the last of his game-high 21 points to tie the game at 61. After Buford’s score, Sears fouled Saluki senior guard Shane Hawkins with seven seconds left.

Herrin called timeout to set up the final play, which included a handoff from Hawkins to Jenkins for the final shot. But after hitting so many on that end in the second half, the Salukis’ luck finally ran out.

It was probably more what we didn’t do, Sears said. We didn’t screen out very well in the second half. We let them back in. They hit some shots and they got it down and our shots weren’t going.

Altman breathed a sigh of relief following the game, but was still disappointed with his team’s second-half effort.

We had some good looks on some threes, Altman said. In the second half, we had the ball underneath the basket a number of times and just had trouble finishing plays. They got us standing around a little bit, and we weren’t nearly as sharp in the execution of our offense.

The Salukis head to Springfield, Mo., tonight for a battle with Southwest Missouri State University at 7:05. The matchup marks the first of a three-game road trip for SIUC.

Herrin knows the team must regroup after two tough losses to have good showing in an important stretch of the season.

Our guys are competitors they like to win, Herrin said. But it’s a pretty tough mountain to climb. It really is.

SIUC travels to Springfield, Mo., for a battle with Southwest Missouri State University at 7:05 tonight.

The game can be heard on WXLT 95.1 FM or at http://www.siu.edu/~athletic.