ose Peraza was given the day off after being hit by a pitch in his hand Saturday.Pirates: 2B Josh Harrisons right groin injury is more than day to day and could potentially be season ending, acco

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Marcus Foster admits that No. 12 Creighton really hasnt faced a tough test yet, even after beating No. 9 Wisconsin a week ago.But the Bluejays got such a test Monday night, getting pushed to the limit by Mississippi before coming away with a 86-77 victory in the championship game of the Paradise Jam tournament.Foster scored 25 points, and three other players finished in double figures for Creighton (5-0), which climbed 10 places in the AP Top 25 rankings released earlier Monday.This team is very tight, and were very close, said Foster, the tournaments MVP. Weve just got to stick together when we face adversity.Khyri Thomas added 16 points, Toby Hegner had 12 and Justin Patton 11 for the Bluejays (5-0), who trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half and were down 50-40 with 18:44 left in the second half.There was a lot of pointing fingers, a lot of arguing with the coaches, a lot of arguing with teammates, Foster said. At halftime, we talked and came closer as a family. We have to stick together when we face adversity. We havent faced adversity all season, but we did tonight.Creighton began its rally at that point, whittling down the Rebels lead until tying the score twice, the last at 74-74 with 5:45 left. Thomas then put the Bluejays ahead to stay with his three-point play with 3:40 remaining.That ignited a 12-3 Creighton run to close out the game, capped by a pair of free throws from Thomas with 40 seconds left.It was their offensive rebounding, Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. You cant run if you dont get a rebound. They were so physical on the glass . and we cant play with any pace if that happens. But we stuck with it, and the guys stuck together. Defensively and in rebounding, we stepped up when we had to.Deandre Burnett and Rasheed Brooks scored 22 points each, and Cullen Neal added 10 for Mississippi (4-1).Changing our defenses slowed them down a little bit, Rebels coach Andy Kennedy said. But in the second half, it came down to them making plays. Our kids really battled, but when a Top 20 team shoots 16 of 26 from 3, its hard.BIG PICTUREMississippi: Dominated the boards in the first half, with a 26-11 advantage. That included a 12-4 edge in offensive rebounds, leading to 19 second-chance points for the Rebels. They finished with a 37-27 advantage, 17-7 in offensive rebounds and 20-4 edge in second-chance points.Creighton: The Bluejays, fresh off a 10-spot jump in the Top 25 rankings, shot 52.5 percent from the field (31 of 59), and made 16 of 26 3-pointers. That offset Mississippis advantage in second-chance points.TURNING POINTAfter tying the score for the final time, Thomas scored eight of Creightons final 12 points. After his three-point play, he connected on a 3-pointer, then capped things off with a pair of free throws with 45 seconds remaining.STAT LINECreighton reserve center Zach Hanson had missed just two field goals in the Bluejays first four games (16 of 18). But against Mississippi, he was held to 1 of 7 shooting before coming out of the game with an ankle injury in the second half.POLL IMPLICATIONSCreightons big move up the Top 25 rankings may have been a little premature. At the very least, Mississippi may get some consideration from the Top 25 voters when the next rankings come out.UP NEXTMississippi: Hosts fellow Paradise Jam participant Montana on Thursday.Creighton: Hosts Loyola (Md.) on Saturday.Wholesale Nike Free Run Australia Online . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Cheap Nike Free Run Australia . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.salenikefreeaustralia.com/ . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Wholesale Nike Free Australia . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Cheap Nike Shoes Australia . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors.PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates are running out of time. It may already be too late.Ryan Vogelsong pitched four shaky innings in Pittsburghs 8-0 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday, closing a disappointing four-game set against the last-place Reds. The Pirates have dropped 11 of 13 overall to fall off the pace in the NL wild-card race.After Cincinnati got to Vogelsong (3-5) for five runs in the second on its way to a big lead, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle emptied his extensive bench, giving playing time to some younger and little-used players. But Hurdle insisted he isnt throwing in the towel.Not yet. Not for me, he said. My vision is to get us playing better. Thats my thought. Im not going to walk out of here with anything other than knowing I have a job to do. Negative emotions, I dont carry them at all. Frustration isnt going to help me do what I need to do to get those men motivated and continue to play. Discouragement, Im not going to go there. I dont go there. We needed to play better. We didnt. How do we play better? Thats where my focus is.After opening the series with a 4-1 win on Thursday night, the Pirates dropped the last three games. Left fielder Gregory Polanco was ejected by umpire Pat Hoberg for arguing balls and strikes in the third inning of the finale. It was Polancos first career ejection.Cincinnati left-hander Brandon Finnegan (9-10) struck out seven in five innings, but allowed five hits and walked five.The seven strikeouts played for him, Hurdle said. It got him out of the all messes. We werent able to convert in some situations that were there for us with a single, let alone a double, let alone a homer. That would have been great. Our execution in crunch time when we were trying to move or score or (get) a two-out hit has been challenging. ... We werent able to punch through and get that big hit off him.Jumbo Diaz followed Finnegan with two innings and Ross Ohlendorf and Wandy Peralta each got three outs, completing a seven-hitter.dddddddddddd. The Pirates (69-72) left 10 runners on base and went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.The Pirates are always good, Finnegan said. They have a good-hitting team. The Reds and Pirates dont really get along very well. But its nice beating any team, especially winning a series.Cincinnati grabbed control in the second, taking advantage of an error by center fielder Andrew McCutchen and some wildness by Vogelsong. Holt had the big blow, a two-run triple that gave the Reds a 4-0 lead. Eugenio Suarez followed with an RBI single.Vogelsong was charged with six runs and seven hits.Cincinnati (60-82) finished with 13 hits. Joey Votto, one of the hottest hitters in the majors, was the only starting position player to fail to record a hit for the Reds.TRAINING ROOMReds: Alfredo Simon will miss the rest of the year with a right shoulder injury that will require surgery. Simon went 2-7 with a 9.37 ERA this season. ... INF Jose Peraza was given the day off after being hit by a pitch in his hand Saturday.Pirates: 2B Josh Harrisons right groin injury is more than day to day and could potentially be season ending, according to general manager Neal Huntington.UP NEXTReds: Keyvius Sampson (0-1, 3.90 ERA) will move to the rotation in order for the Reds to skip the start of Anthony DeSclafani. Sampson will be making his second start in 2015 after starting 12 games in 2016.Pirates: Gerrit Cole (7-9, 3.55 ERA) is expected to return from the disabled list to start Monday at Philadelphia. Cole has been inactive since Aug. 24 with right elbow inflammation. He has made just 20 starts after pitching 32 games in 2015. ' ' '