Creek is now 9-2 with five straight wins. It is tied for second in the Central Division of the Greater Western Ohio Conference with Wayne at 2-1. Northmont leads at 3-0. The Beavers are at Wayne on Tuesday.
Springfield is 0-3 in the Central and 6-5 overall with four straight losses.
Beavercreek was playing without 6-foot-1, 220-pound junior point guard Airius Moore. Considered one the top 100 football players in the class of 2014, Moore is in Tampa, Fla., over the weekend for the Under Armour national combine and senior all-star game.
Moore averages 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
“Kind of an interesting situation,” said Creek coach John Ahrns.
“It’s a great honor for Airius to be invited to such an elite camp and really bodes well for his football future. He sent us a tweet before the game wishing us good luck.
“But without your starting point guard, it can leave a hole in the lineup. But Alec and Josh really stepped up. They showed they can contribute in clutch situations. Especially Alec as a shooter.”
Creek led most of the game, but Springfield was never more than six points back until the end of the third quarter. A basket and free throw by Ryan Minney got the Wildcats within 42-40 with 2:49 to go in the third.
The Beavers answered with back-to-back 3s from Jalen Camper (part of his game-high 22 points) and by Stein for a 48-40 lead.
“It was a big three because it broke their momentum,” said Stein, who had nine points. “I’ve always been a good 3-point shooter in clutch situations.”
Creek went up 52-40 with 6:48 to go. Springfield had a chance to cut the lead, going to the free-throw line eight times from 6:04 to 4:59, but only connected three times.
“Sort of the story of the season,” said Springfield coach Isaiah Carson. “We can’t hit clutch free throws or clutch shots. We not only missed the free throws, but we allowed Beavercreek to rebound the misses.
“Then we make some turnovers and they answer with baskets. Really frustrating.”
Minney led Springfield with 21 points. Along with not hitting free throws, the Wildcats went from 2:49 of the third quarter to 1:36 of the fourth quarter without a field goal as Creek built its lead.
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