Any Creighton basketball fans wondering if the Bluejays will be motivated for their College Basketball Invitational game on Tuesday night can rest easy.

Just ask Kenny Lawson.

The senior center, coming off a Missouri Valley Conference tournament where he averaged 15 points per game, said he doesn’t want his career to end quite yet.  Especially on Creighton’s home court at the Qwest Center.  Plus there’s another factor when the Bluejays face San Jose State at 7:05 p.m.

It’s a chance for the Bluejays to win their 20th game of the season.  It’s something Creighton didn’t do last season, snapping an 11-season streak of winning 20 or more games.

“We kind of felt bad that we snapped the streak last year and we want to get back on track,” Lawson said before Monday’s practice.  “That will be a good way to end our legacy for the seniors and the young guys can continue that streak.”

To do so, Creighton coach Greg McDermott said his team must slow a potentially explosive Spartans offense.

San Jose State’s three starting guards combine for 50 points per game, led by 6-foot-4 senior Adrian Oliver.   Never heard of him?  Just think of stars named Kemba.  Even – gulp – Jimmer.

Oliver is third in the nation in scoring at 24.3 points per game and has reached the 30-point mark seven times this year.  He’s averaging nearly one point more per game than Connecticut standout Kemba Walker and only Brigham Young sensation Jimmer Fredette and Providence’s Marshon Brooks score more per night.

But Antoine Young didn’t seem too worried about the task of stopping Oliver.  All Creighton needs to do is look back to Dec. 1 when it hosted BYU.

The Bluejays lost but actually made Jimmer look human.  They held perhaps the most feared scorer in basketball not named Kobe or Kevin Durant to 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting.  It was the low-point total this season for Fredette, the same guy who torched New Mexico for 52 points last week.

Young, who guarded Fredette for much of the BYU contest, said he can’t wait for another crack at one of America’s top guns.

“It’s going to be fun,” Young said.  “Obviously you like playing against other top competition. … It’s going to be fun and we’re ready to accept the challenge.”

And the junior guard said the payoff will be well worth the effort.

“It’s another opportunity to play with our seniors,” he said, “and to just have fun and go out swinging and build for something next year.”