Saturday, February 4
Omaha, Neb.
2:00 PM
Creighton University
20-4, 7-4BE
80
vs
82
Xavier
17-6, 7-3BE
1
2
F
Xavier
34
48
82
#22 Creighton
43
37
80
Marcus Foster led creighton with 17 points
Photo by: A.J. Olnes
Men's Basketball Drops 82-80 Game To Xavier
2/4/2017 5:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Musketeers overcome 11-point deficit in second half
OMAHA, Neb. -- Three three-pointers in the final four minutes helped the Xavier men's basketball team to an 82-80 road win at No. 22 Creighton on Saturday afternoon before a sellout crowd at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Creighton (20-4, 7-4 BIG EAST) led 43-34 at intermission and did not trail in the second half until back-to-back three-pointers from Xavier star Trevon Bluiett gave the Musketeers a 75-70 lead with 2:55 left. After Creighton's Khyri Thomas answered with a trey, Xavier's J.P. Macura drained a deep trey of his own to give the Musketeers a five-point lead heading into the final two minutes.
Creighton trailed 79-75 with less than a minute left before a Bluiett turnover turned into a Marcus Foster three-pointer with 50 seconds left. A Macura turnover preceded a missed jumper by Foster with just under 30 seconds to play. Xavier gave Creighton another chance as Tyler Clement stolen an inbounds pass and fed a cutting Ronnie Harrell Jr., who was fouled, but Harrell missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 with 20.9 ticks left.
XU split two free throws and Creighton had two more chances to tie the score while down by two. A lay-up from Thomas rolled out with 11 seconds left, and then down two in the final four seconds, Creighton threw away an outlet pass while trying to rush upcourt.
Foster led Creighton with 17 points, while Thomas finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Creighton shot 47.5 percent for the game, including 13-of-28 from three-point range, but finished just 11-of-21 from the foul line (52.4 percent), including 2-of-7 in the final 5:04.
Tyrique Jones went 8-for-8 from the field and matched Bluiett for Xavier scoring honors with 16 points, while Goodin and Macura each added 15 points. Xavier shot 50.8 percent for the game, including 60.7 percent after halftime.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday with a 1 pm game at DePaul.
NOTES: Creighton and Xavier have split the season series in each of the last three years ... Eight of the last nine Creighton/Xavier meetings have been decided by eight points or less ... Creighton had won 73 straight games when scoring 42 or more first half points, dating to Nov. 21, 2010, before it was snapped today ... Creighton also had its 21-game win streak when leading at halftime snapped ... Justin Patton was held to a season-low seven points, snapping a 13-game streak in double-figures, but did add a career-high five blocked shots ... Creighton had been 14-0 when Khyri Thomas made at three-pointer before today. Thomas made 3-of-5 trifectas on Saturday ... Creighton had its sixth different game this year with 13 or more three-pointers ... Tyler Clement tied a career-high with eight points in a career-high 28 minutes off the bench ... Xavier overcame an 11-point first half deficit (41-30) to rally and win, tying the second-largest comeback win ever by a visiting team at CenturyLink Center Omaha ... Creighton's bench outscored the Xavier bench, 27-16 ... Creighton's only two games on FOX since 2000 have both come this year, and are the program's only losses in that span when scoring 80 or more points at home.
Creighton (20-4, 7-4 BIG EAST) led 43-34 at intermission and did not trail in the second half until back-to-back three-pointers from Xavier star Trevon Bluiett gave the Musketeers a 75-70 lead with 2:55 left. After Creighton's Khyri Thomas answered with a trey, Xavier's J.P. Macura drained a deep trey of his own to give the Musketeers a five-point lead heading into the final two minutes.
Creighton trailed 79-75 with less than a minute left before a Bluiett turnover turned into a Marcus Foster three-pointer with 50 seconds left. A Macura turnover preceded a missed jumper by Foster with just under 30 seconds to play. Xavier gave Creighton another chance as Tyler Clement stolen an inbounds pass and fed a cutting Ronnie Harrell Jr., who was fouled, but Harrell missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 with 20.9 ticks left.
XU split two free throws and Creighton had two more chances to tie the score while down by two. A lay-up from Thomas rolled out with 11 seconds left, and then down two in the final four seconds, Creighton threw away an outlet pass while trying to rush upcourt.
Foster led Creighton with 17 points, while Thomas finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Creighton shot 47.5 percent for the game, including 13-of-28 from three-point range, but finished just 11-of-21 from the foul line (52.4 percent), including 2-of-7 in the final 5:04.
Tyrique Jones went 8-for-8 from the field and matched Bluiett for Xavier scoring honors with 16 points, while Goodin and Macura each added 15 points. Xavier shot 50.8 percent for the game, including 60.7 percent after halftime.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday with a 1 pm game at DePaul.
NOTES: Creighton and Xavier have split the season series in each of the last three years ... Eight of the last nine Creighton/Xavier meetings have been decided by eight points or less ... Creighton had won 73 straight games when scoring 42 or more first half points, dating to Nov. 21, 2010, before it was snapped today ... Creighton also had its 21-game win streak when leading at halftime snapped ... Justin Patton was held to a season-low seven points, snapping a 13-game streak in double-figures, but did add a career-high five blocked shots ... Creighton had been 14-0 when Khyri Thomas made at three-pointer before today. Thomas made 3-of-5 trifectas on Saturday ... Creighton had its sixth different game this year with 13 or more three-pointers ... Tyler Clement tied a career-high with eight points in a career-high 28 minutes off the bench ... Xavier overcame an 11-point first half deficit (41-30) to rally and win, tying the second-largest comeback win ever by a visiting team at CenturyLink Center Omaha ... Creighton's bench outscored the Xavier bench, 27-16 ... Creighton's only two games on FOX since 2000 have both come this year, and are the program's only losses in that span when scoring 80 or more points at home.
Team Stats
XU
CU
FG%
.508
.475
3FG%
.455
.464
FT%
.571
.524
RB
38
36
TO
8
9
STL
7
3
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
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