Saturday, February 17
Omaha, Neb.
9:00 PM
Creighton University
19-8, 8-6BE
86
vs
90
Marquette
15-11, 6-8BE
1
2
F
Marquette
41
49
90
Creighton
53
33
86
Khyri Thomas was honored prior to the game for scoring 1,000 career points.
Photo by: A.J. Olnes
Men's Basketball Drops 90-86 Decision To Marquette
2/17/2018 8:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Golden Eagles overcome 16-point deficit before sellout crowd in Omaha
Omaha, Neb. -- Despite a career-high 26 points from Khyri Thomas, the Creighton men's basketball team suffered a 90-86 defeat to Marquette on Saturday, Feb. 17.
The loss dropped the Bluejays to 19-8 on the season and 8-6 in BIG EAST play, while Marquette moved to 15-11 overall and 6-8 in conference action.
As expected both squads pushed the pace early, but it was the Golden Eagles that built an early 19-12 edge by getting role players Sacar Anim and Matt Heldt involved. The duo helped Marquette knock down seven of its first eight shots in the opening minutes.
Creighton mounted a comeback from long range. Toby Hegner got things rolling with a three-point from the left wing, then Thomas followed suit to make it a 19-18 contest. After forcing a Golden Eagle turnover, the Bluejays found Hegner for another trey to complete the 9-0 run and grab a 21-19 edge.
Marquette answered with a three-pointer from Anim to go back up 22-21, but the momentum of the game had shifted for the time being. Over the next four minutes the Bluejays raced out to a 34-24 lead with a 13-2 run. Freshmen led the charge as Jacob Epperson had eight points during the run and Mitch Ballock knocked down a trifecta as the rookie Bluejays combined for 11 of the 13 points.
The Golden Eagles chipped away at Creighton's lead, getting as close as four before but the Bluejays extended the lead to 51-35. CU took a 53-41 advantage into the locker room after shooting a blistering 70.4% from the field in the first half, connecting on 19 of 27 shots. Marquette, meanwhile, was 16-of-30 (53.3%).
Playing the second half without leading scorer Markus Howard due to an injury suffered with just over five minutes left in the opening frame, Marquette found a lift from Anim. Entering Saturday's contest with a career-high 15 points, Anim equaled that total in the first half and continued to sizzle in the second. With Creighton leading 56-41 after the opening possession, Amin drove the lane to start a 14-2 Marquette run to make it a 59-57 contest with 14:17.
The two teams battled back and forth down the stretch, forcing seven ties and six lead changes. Knotted at 86-86 Anim stepped forward once more, hitting an eight-footer with 1:14 to go to give Marquette an 88-86 lead. The teams would trade turnovers before CU went to leading scorer Marcus Foster in the clutch. Foster, who drained a game-winner just 10 days ago at DePaul, would be off the mark with eight seconds left. MU's Sam Hauser iced the game with two free throws with six seconds left.
Thomas' 26 points led Creighton, including 16 points in the second half. Three other Bluejays closed the game in double figures as Epperson had 14, Foster finished with 12 and Hegner had 10. Epperson had his 14 points in just eight minutes of work, as he was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field. The Bluejays shot 56.1 percent for the game, including 11-of-24 from three-point range, and dished 26 assists on 32 hoops.
Anim closed the contest with 26 to lead Marquette, while Andrew Rowsey finished with 21 points and eight assists and Hauser 15 points to go with eight rebounds. MU shot 56.3 percent from the floor and won the rebound battle 33-22. MU converted nine offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points after the break.
The Bluejays return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 20 as Creighton travels to Indianapolis for a matchup with Butler at 6 pm Central on FS1.
NOTES: Each of the last seven meetings in the series against Marquette have been decided by eight points or less, and Marquette has won the last four games in the series ... Creighton had won 35 straight games when shooting 50 percent from the field before tonight ... Creighton had won 15 straight home games over unranked teams ... Creighton had six dunks on the night ... Marquette's comeback win was the largest ever over CU at CenturyLink Center Omaha, eclipsing the 13-point deficit that Providence overcame on Feb. 22, 2017 ... Creighton had not squandered a 15-point lead in a loss at any site since Jan. 22, 2011 at Missouri State ... Marcus Foster has made at least one three-pointer in 14 straight games, and his 54 three-pointers this season at CenturyLink Center Omaha are a single-season facility record ... Khyri Thomas had 26 points to move from 38th to 35th on Creighton's all-time scoring list with 1,045 career points ... Khyri Thomas was honored prior to the game in recognition of him scoring his 1,000th career point last Saturday vs. Xavier ... The sellout crowd of 18,495 was the 10th-largest home crowd in program history ... Creighton dropped to 95-3 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha when scoring 80 points or more, a figure that also includes a 102-94 loss to Marquette last season ... Ronnie Harrell Jr. had a career-high six assists while Tyler Clement tied his career-high with six assists.
The loss dropped the Bluejays to 19-8 on the season and 8-6 in BIG EAST play, while Marquette moved to 15-11 overall and 6-8 in conference action.
As expected both squads pushed the pace early, but it was the Golden Eagles that built an early 19-12 edge by getting role players Sacar Anim and Matt Heldt involved. The duo helped Marquette knock down seven of its first eight shots in the opening minutes.
Creighton mounted a comeback from long range. Toby Hegner got things rolling with a three-point from the left wing, then Thomas followed suit to make it a 19-18 contest. After forcing a Golden Eagle turnover, the Bluejays found Hegner for another trey to complete the 9-0 run and grab a 21-19 edge.
Marquette answered with a three-pointer from Anim to go back up 22-21, but the momentum of the game had shifted for the time being. Over the next four minutes the Bluejays raced out to a 34-24 lead with a 13-2 run. Freshmen led the charge as Jacob Epperson had eight points during the run and Mitch Ballock knocked down a trifecta as the rookie Bluejays combined for 11 of the 13 points.
The Golden Eagles chipped away at Creighton's lead, getting as close as four before but the Bluejays extended the lead to 51-35. CU took a 53-41 advantage into the locker room after shooting a blistering 70.4% from the field in the first half, connecting on 19 of 27 shots. Marquette, meanwhile, was 16-of-30 (53.3%).
Playing the second half without leading scorer Markus Howard due to an injury suffered with just over five minutes left in the opening frame, Marquette found a lift from Anim. Entering Saturday's contest with a career-high 15 points, Anim equaled that total in the first half and continued to sizzle in the second. With Creighton leading 56-41 after the opening possession, Amin drove the lane to start a 14-2 Marquette run to make it a 59-57 contest with 14:17.
The two teams battled back and forth down the stretch, forcing seven ties and six lead changes. Knotted at 86-86 Anim stepped forward once more, hitting an eight-footer with 1:14 to go to give Marquette an 88-86 lead. The teams would trade turnovers before CU went to leading scorer Marcus Foster in the clutch. Foster, who drained a game-winner just 10 days ago at DePaul, would be off the mark with eight seconds left. MU's Sam Hauser iced the game with two free throws with six seconds left.
Thomas' 26 points led Creighton, including 16 points in the second half. Three other Bluejays closed the game in double figures as Epperson had 14, Foster finished with 12 and Hegner had 10. Epperson had his 14 points in just eight minutes of work, as he was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field. The Bluejays shot 56.1 percent for the game, including 11-of-24 from three-point range, and dished 26 assists on 32 hoops.
Anim closed the contest with 26 to lead Marquette, while Andrew Rowsey finished with 21 points and eight assists and Hauser 15 points to go with eight rebounds. MU shot 56.3 percent from the floor and won the rebound battle 33-22. MU converted nine offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points after the break.
The Bluejays return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 20 as Creighton travels to Indianapolis for a matchup with Butler at 6 pm Central on FS1.
NOTES: Each of the last seven meetings in the series against Marquette have been decided by eight points or less, and Marquette has won the last four games in the series ... Creighton had won 35 straight games when shooting 50 percent from the field before tonight ... Creighton had won 15 straight home games over unranked teams ... Creighton had six dunks on the night ... Marquette's comeback win was the largest ever over CU at CenturyLink Center Omaha, eclipsing the 13-point deficit that Providence overcame on Feb. 22, 2017 ... Creighton had not squandered a 15-point lead in a loss at any site since Jan. 22, 2011 at Missouri State ... Marcus Foster has made at least one three-pointer in 14 straight games, and his 54 three-pointers this season at CenturyLink Center Omaha are a single-season facility record ... Khyri Thomas had 26 points to move from 38th to 35th on Creighton's all-time scoring list with 1,045 career points ... Khyri Thomas was honored prior to the game in recognition of him scoring his 1,000th career point last Saturday vs. Xavier ... The sellout crowd of 18,495 was the 10th-largest home crowd in program history ... Creighton dropped to 95-3 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha when scoring 80 points or more, a figure that also includes a 102-94 loss to Marquette last season ... Ronnie Harrell Jr. had a career-high six assists while Tyler Clement tied his career-high with six assists.
Team Stats
MU
CU
FG%
.563
.561
3FG%
.440
.458
FT%
.636
.733
RB
33
22
TO
12
10
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
11
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballG
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