Monday, December 14
Omaha, Neb.
8:00 PM
Creighton University
4-2,0-1Big East
84
vs
89
Marquette
5-2,1-0Big East
1
2
F
Marquette
35
54
89
#8 Creighton
44
40
84
Mitch Balllock
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Second Half Rally Lifts Marquette Past No. 9 Creighton in BIG EAST Opener, 89-84
12/14/2020 11:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays outscored 54-40 after the break
.OMAHA, Neb. – The No. 9 Creighton men's basketball team suffered an 89-84 loss to Marquette in the BIG EAST opener for both teams on Monday as the Golden Eagles overcame a nine-point halftime deficit.
Mitch Ballock drained 8-of-14 three-pointers to score a season-high 26 points for the Bluejays, while Denzel Mahoney tied his Creighton-high with 21 points.
Marquette (5-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) placed five men in double-figures, led by 20 from Ohio State transfer D.J. Carton. Freshman Dawson Garcia produced a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Greg Elliott made 3-of-3 three-pointers after halftime to finish with 14 points overall.
Ballock had 17 points before halftime as Creighton's lead reached as large as 41-29 before the visitors from Milwaukee drew within nine (44-35) at the break.
The Golden Eagles compiled a 21-10 run to open the second half and take a 56-54 lead, its first advantage since an early 18-16 edge. Creighton would not lead again.
Marquette surged ahead to take a 75-63 lead with 5:21 left before a Ballock trey started a frantic rally by the Bluejays. CU would compile a 12-1 run to draw within one point with 2:32 remaining, only to see the Golden Eagles pull away with the game's next seven points on a three-pointer by Carton and consecutive scores inside by Garcia.
Creighton (4-2, 0-1 BIG EAST) cut the deficit to three (83-80) with 33 seconds left, and again at 87-84 with five seconds left, but Marquette held on to win for the fourth time in its last five trips to Omaha.
Creighton returns to the floor on Thursday with a road game at St. John's. That game will air on FS1, with the tip time moved to 6 p.m. Central.
NOTES: Creighton fell to 5-3 in BIG EAST openers … Twelve of the last 13 meetings between the schools have been decided by eight points or less … Creighton is 131-15 under Greg McDermott when scoring 80 or more points, but just 2-6 in those contests against Marquette … Creighton had won its first home game following a meeting with Nebraska in each of the past 15 seasons, with those wins by an average of 23.33 points … Creighton's 11-game home win streak was snapped, tied for the seventh-longest streak in arena history and the 17th-longest active streak in the country … Creighton had won 10 straight home games by double-figures, tied for the second-longest streak in program history … Denzel Mahoney's 21 points tied his Creighton high, as he also scored 21 at No. 8 Villanova on Feb. 1, 2020 … Mitch Ballock's 26 points give him 1,060 in his career, passing Reggie Morris (1,050) for 36th in program history … Ballock's eight three-pointers give him 249 in his career, as he moved past Ryan Sears (245) for fourth in program history … Creighton made just 14-of-25 free throws (56 percent) in the game after making 78.7 percent in its first four home games.
Mitch Ballock drained 8-of-14 three-pointers to score a season-high 26 points for the Bluejays, while Denzel Mahoney tied his Creighton-high with 21 points.
Marquette (5-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) placed five men in double-figures, led by 20 from Ohio State transfer D.J. Carton. Freshman Dawson Garcia produced a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Greg Elliott made 3-of-3 three-pointers after halftime to finish with 14 points overall.
Ballock had 17 points before halftime as Creighton's lead reached as large as 41-29 before the visitors from Milwaukee drew within nine (44-35) at the break.
The Golden Eagles compiled a 21-10 run to open the second half and take a 56-54 lead, its first advantage since an early 18-16 edge. Creighton would not lead again.
Marquette surged ahead to take a 75-63 lead with 5:21 left before a Ballock trey started a frantic rally by the Bluejays. CU would compile a 12-1 run to draw within one point with 2:32 remaining, only to see the Golden Eagles pull away with the game's next seven points on a three-pointer by Carton and consecutive scores inside by Garcia.
Creighton (4-2, 0-1 BIG EAST) cut the deficit to three (83-80) with 33 seconds left, and again at 87-84 with five seconds left, but Marquette held on to win for the fourth time in its last five trips to Omaha.
Creighton returns to the floor on Thursday with a road game at St. John's. That game will air on FS1, with the tip time moved to 6 p.m. Central.
NOTES: Creighton fell to 5-3 in BIG EAST openers … Twelve of the last 13 meetings between the schools have been decided by eight points or less … Creighton is 131-15 under Greg McDermott when scoring 80 or more points, but just 2-6 in those contests against Marquette … Creighton had won its first home game following a meeting with Nebraska in each of the past 15 seasons, with those wins by an average of 23.33 points … Creighton's 11-game home win streak was snapped, tied for the seventh-longest streak in arena history and the 17th-longest active streak in the country … Creighton had won 10 straight home games by double-figures, tied for the second-longest streak in program history … Denzel Mahoney's 21 points tied his Creighton high, as he also scored 21 at No. 8 Villanova on Feb. 1, 2020 … Mitch Ballock's 26 points give him 1,060 in his career, passing Reggie Morris (1,050) for 36th in program history … Ballock's eight three-pointers give him 249 in his career, as he moved past Ryan Sears (245) for fourth in program history … Creighton made just 14-of-25 free throws (56 percent) in the game after making 78.7 percent in its first four home games.
Team Stats
MU
CU
FG%
.536
.483
3FG%
.571
.438
FT%
.654
.560
RB
42
27
TO
12
7
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
8
FTM
0
Pts
21
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
7
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
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G
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