hecking for peewee players at its annual general meeting in Charlottetown on Saturday, with only the Saskatchewan Hockey Association voting aga

OMAHA, Neb. -- Creightons up-tempo offense is hard enough to deal with for an opponent thats at full strength. One thats short-handed is going to be left gasping for air.The 10th-ranked Bluejays let Buffalo stick around into the middle of the second half and then pulled away against the worn-out Bulls for a 93-72 victory on Tuesday night.The reality of it is, our pace isnt going to have that much of an impact in the first half, but over the course of the game theyre going to get tired, Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. Were going to get easy ones in transition, theyre not quite as aggressive going to the glass because theyre tired, and theyre a little apprehensive to go to the offensive glass because they know whats coming when we get that rebound.Creighton (7-0) has outscored its last four opponents by 12, 15, 25 and 19 points in the second halves and are averaging 92 points a game.The Bulls (4-3) were winding up an 11-day road trip thats taken them 8,400 miles, with a week spent at the Great Alaska Shootout and the stop in Omaha before a return to western New York. They also were missing starters in point guard C.J. Massinburg (mononucleosis) and Quate McKinzie (concussion). Also, guard Dontay Caruthers was limited to 15 minutes because of foul trouble.Theyre deep and they play fast, and if youre not in shape or you dont have a deep team, youre in trouble with them, Bulls coach Nate Oats said.Marcus Foster scored 22 points and Justin Patton and Khyri Thomas had their first double-doubles. Patton had season highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds and Thomas had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Maurice Watson Jr. added 15 points and eight assists.Foster had nine points during the decisive 13-0 run that made it 67-51 after the Bulls had cut Creightons lead to 54-51.Thats part of my game, Foster said. Ill score a bunch of buckets real quick. Thats how Ive always been.The Bulls got no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.Blake Hamilton and Willie Conner scored 21 points apiece to lead the Bulls, and Raheem Johnson added 14.BIG PICTUREBuffalo: The Bulls made it a game until midway in the second half before losing a second game to a top-10 opponent. Xavier beat them by 33 two weeks ago.Creighton: The Bluejays elevated their game in the second half, getting a boost from Thomas, who had 14 of his 18 points and eight of his 12 rebounds in the final 20 minutes.POLL IMPLICATIONSCreighton has been one of the fastest movers in the Top 25 , going from No. 22 in the preseason to No. 10 this week. The Bluejays have never been higher than No. 9, but the way theyre playing, they could go higher than that soon.EMOTIONAL OATSOats became emotional at his postgame news conference when he brought up the support he received from McDermott after he found out in October 2015 that his wife, Crystal, had cancer. McDermotts wife, Theresa, also has battled the disease.He was unbelievable during the whole deal with my wife. Financially he helped out with some stuff, Oats said. For all you writers in Omaha, youve got a big-time coach. I called him when I found out because I knew his wife had gone through it. He talked to me the entire time Crystal was going through treatment. Hes been as good as anybody in the business on that deal.UP NEXTBuffalo visits St. Bonaventure on Saturday.Creighton hosts another MAC opponent, Akron, on Saturday.---More college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org Ketel Marte Diamondbacks Jersey . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Rob Refsnyder Diamondbacks Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. http://www.diamondbackssale.com/diamondbacks-yasmany-tomas-jersey/ . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Luis Gonzalez Jersey .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Yasmany Tomas Diamondbacks Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. CHARLOTTETOWN -- The game of hockey will soon change for peewee-level players across the country after a vote by Hockey Canada on Saturday that banned bodychecking. Hockey Canadas board of directors overwhelmingly voted to eliminate bodychecking for peewee players at its annual general meeting in Charlottetown on Saturday, with only the Saskatchewan Hockey Association voting against. The decision comes in the same month that both Hockey Alberta and Hockey Nova Scotia did away with bodychecking for its peewee players, who are usually 11 and 12 years old. Quebec had also previously banned it. Debate over when to allow players to start hitting has inflamed emotions on both sides of the argument for years. But research that came out of Alberta last year showed there was a three-fold increase in the risk of injuries for peewee players who check in Alberta, compared to those in Quebec where bodychecking is not allowed until bantam. Paul Carson, vice-president of hockey development for Hockey Canada, said safety was a key factor in the boards decision. He said reaction at the meeting was mixed, but most thought it was the right move. "While some would be reluctant because of their traditional beliefs of the game, they also understood that the safety and the area of skill development were critical issues to consider," said Carson on Saturday. Kelly McClintock, general manager of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association, maintains that bodychecking is a skill that should be taught to children as young and eight and nine. "Our membership has always been very strongly in favour of having bodychecking as early as possible," he said. "Its always been a pretty emotionall discussion.ddddddddddddquot; He said the association was disappointed, but not surprised that the motion passed. The changes will take effect in the upcoming 2013-14 hockey season, which begins in September. Hockey Canada said the board has agreed to develop a bodychecking standard for coaching, to be implemented in the 2014-15 season. But McClintock says thats putting "the cart before the horse." "For us it was probably a little bit more of a concern over the process, that it happened very quickly in the last three weeks to a month," said McClintock. "I think we have to look at the process that we follow when were going to do something like this." Halifax Mooseheads coach Dominique Ducharme, who is in Saskatoon for the MasterCard Memorial Cup, noted that 11- and 12-year-old kids can vary drastically in size. "The more the players at a younger age can work on their skills, beside wondering about getting body checked and body weight and height difference, I think maybe (in) the long run it might just help develop players with even better skills," he said. But Mooseheads forward Stefan Fournier said bodychecking teaches players an important aspect of the game at an younger age. "When youre a peewee hockey player the games not as fast. It teaches you to learn to keep your head up when youre skating around. That kind of stuff does limit head injuries," said Fournier, a day before hitting the ice at the Memorial Cup final against the Portland Winterhawks. "The games fast and if you have your head down for a split second you can get caught." By Aly Thomson in Halifax and Joshua Clipperton in Saskatoon ' ' '