Wednesday, December 23
Omaha, Neb.
2:00 PM
Creighton University
7-2,3-1Big East
66
vs
61
Xavier
8-1,1-1Big East
1
2
F
#22 Xavier
34
27
61
#13 Creighton
36
30
66
Mitch Ballock was presented a ball by coach Greg McDermott in recognition of him surpassing 1,000 career points.
Photo by: Catherine Grosdidier
#13 Men's Basketball Outduels #22 Xavier, 66-61
12/23/2020 2:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays move to 7-2, dealing Musketeers their first loss.
OMAHA, Neb -- In a typical BIG EAST battle No. 13 Creighton men's basketball outlasted No. 22 Xavier 66-61 on Wednesday, Dec. 22 to deal the Musketeers their first loss of the season.
The win lifted the Bluejays to 7-2 on the season and 3-1 in BIG EAST action, while Xavier fell to 8-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. It's the eighth straight season Creighton has picked up at least one top-25 win, and helped CU improve to 248-52 in 300 all-time games at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Holding a 57-56 lead with under three minutes left senior Denzel Mahoney gave Creighton the breathing room it needed with an driving bucket at the rim as well as the bonus free throw. Mahoney knocked down the free throw to make it a 60-56 contest with 2:38 remaining.
Xavier answered via a driving layup from Adam Kunkel, but Creighton closed the door with strong defense down the stretch and hit 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final minute. Kunkel had a chance to force overtime after a steal and three-point try in the closing seconds, but he was unable to duplicate the heroics from last Sunday vs. Marquette when he hit a buzzer-beater as time expired in a 91-88 victory.
The opening moments of the game saw Xavier came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, using a 17-2 run to build a 17-5 edge with 14:26 on the clock. The Musketeers built their early advantage by opening the game 7-of-10 from the field and went on to lead by as much as 13 at 22-9, hitting four of their first six from long range.
Creighton, however, rallied with a spark from its bench. Consecutive buckets from sophomore Shereef Mitchell on a driving layup, then a long-range splash by sophomore Antwann Jones made it 22-14. Xavier responded with a pair of treys from KyKy Tandy, but the Bluejays' offense refused to be denied.
Trailing 28-16 the Bluejays stormed out on a 14-3 run. Mahoney got things started with a three from the left wing, then Jones connect for the traditional three-point play. Moments later Jones connected again to make is a 28-24 contest. Following a Musketeer trey, Jones and senior Mitch Ballock connected from deep themselves to bring Creighton within one point at 31-30.
The momentum continued to flow the Bluejay way over the final 4:43 of the opening half, with Xavier missing its final seven shots. Creighton took advantage with interior buckets by senior Alex O'Connell and junior Christian Bishop to seize a 36-34 lead at the break. The Bluejays held the lead the rest of the way.
Creighton fed on the opportunity early in the second half with an 8-0 run to push its lead out to double-figures at 44-34. Junior Marcus Zegarowski scored five of the Bluejays' eight points in the opening moments. Xavier, meanwhile, continued to struggle with six missed field goals to open the half.
The Musketeers rallied with a short 7-2 burst to get within five, setting the stage for the hard fought finish.
Four Bluejays closed the game in double figures, led by 13 points from Jones and Mahoney. Bishop and Zegarowski delivered 10 points in the victory. Creighton won the rebound battle 45-42 and had a 24-18 advantage in the paint.
Xavier got 12 points from Nate Johnson and 11 from Paul Scruggs. Zach Freemantle came in averaging 17.5 points per game but was limited to seven points and fouled out in 23 minutes of action.
One of the key stats in the contest was three-point shooting. After opening the game 4-of-6 (66.7%) from beyond the arc, Xavier finished 8-of-32 (25.0%), including 2-of-16 (12.5%) in the second half. Creighton was marginally better finishing 8-of-28 (28.6%) in the contest.
Creighton returns to the floor on Jan. 2 in a road game at Providence at 11:00 am Central. The game will be televised nationally on FOX.
NOTES: Creighton has won three straight over Xavier for just the second time (also 2004-06) ... Twenty-two of the 33 all-time meetings between Creighton and Xavier have been within five points in the final minute, including eight of the past 12 games ... Creighton is now 3-1 in the BIG EAST for the first time since 2017-18 ... Creighton is now 22-33 under Greg McDermott vs. top-25 teams, and 40-148 in program history ... Creighton is now 11-13 in games where both teams are ranked ... Creighton is now 27-2 in its last 29 home games ... Creighton allowed limited fans (1,673) for the first time this season after previously allowing just family members in for the first five home games ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 891 games in a row ... Creighton, which trailed by as much as 13 (22-9), now owns 21 comebacks under Greg McDermott when down by double-figures ... Creighton is now 29-31 in 60 all-time games at CHI Health Center Omaha when trailing by 10 points or more at any point.
The win lifted the Bluejays to 7-2 on the season and 3-1 in BIG EAST action, while Xavier fell to 8-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. It's the eighth straight season Creighton has picked up at least one top-25 win, and helped CU improve to 248-52 in 300 all-time games at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Holding a 57-56 lead with under three minutes left senior Denzel Mahoney gave Creighton the breathing room it needed with an driving bucket at the rim as well as the bonus free throw. Mahoney knocked down the free throw to make it a 60-56 contest with 2:38 remaining.
Xavier answered via a driving layup from Adam Kunkel, but Creighton closed the door with strong defense down the stretch and hit 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final minute. Kunkel had a chance to force overtime after a steal and three-point try in the closing seconds, but he was unable to duplicate the heroics from last Sunday vs. Marquette when he hit a buzzer-beater as time expired in a 91-88 victory.
The opening moments of the game saw Xavier came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, using a 17-2 run to build a 17-5 edge with 14:26 on the clock. The Musketeers built their early advantage by opening the game 7-of-10 from the field and went on to lead by as much as 13 at 22-9, hitting four of their first six from long range.
Creighton, however, rallied with a spark from its bench. Consecutive buckets from sophomore Shereef Mitchell on a driving layup, then a long-range splash by sophomore Antwann Jones made it 22-14. Xavier responded with a pair of treys from KyKy Tandy, but the Bluejays' offense refused to be denied.
Trailing 28-16 the Bluejays stormed out on a 14-3 run. Mahoney got things started with a three from the left wing, then Jones connect for the traditional three-point play. Moments later Jones connected again to make is a 28-24 contest. Following a Musketeer trey, Jones and senior Mitch Ballock connected from deep themselves to bring Creighton within one point at 31-30.
The momentum continued to flow the Bluejay way over the final 4:43 of the opening half, with Xavier missing its final seven shots. Creighton took advantage with interior buckets by senior Alex O'Connell and junior Christian Bishop to seize a 36-34 lead at the break. The Bluejays held the lead the rest of the way.
Creighton fed on the opportunity early in the second half with an 8-0 run to push its lead out to double-figures at 44-34. Junior Marcus Zegarowski scored five of the Bluejays' eight points in the opening moments. Xavier, meanwhile, continued to struggle with six missed field goals to open the half.
The Musketeers rallied with a short 7-2 burst to get within five, setting the stage for the hard fought finish.
Four Bluejays closed the game in double figures, led by 13 points from Jones and Mahoney. Bishop and Zegarowski delivered 10 points in the victory. Creighton won the rebound battle 45-42 and had a 24-18 advantage in the paint.
Xavier got 12 points from Nate Johnson and 11 from Paul Scruggs. Zach Freemantle came in averaging 17.5 points per game but was limited to seven points and fouled out in 23 minutes of action.
One of the key stats in the contest was three-point shooting. After opening the game 4-of-6 (66.7%) from beyond the arc, Xavier finished 8-of-32 (25.0%), including 2-of-16 (12.5%) in the second half. Creighton was marginally better finishing 8-of-28 (28.6%) in the contest.
Creighton returns to the floor on Jan. 2 in a road game at Providence at 11:00 am Central. The game will be televised nationally on FOX.
NOTES: Creighton has won three straight over Xavier for just the second time (also 2004-06) ... Twenty-two of the 33 all-time meetings between Creighton and Xavier have been within five points in the final minute, including eight of the past 12 games ... Creighton is now 3-1 in the BIG EAST for the first time since 2017-18 ... Creighton is now 22-33 under Greg McDermott vs. top-25 teams, and 40-148 in program history ... Creighton is now 11-13 in games where both teams are ranked ... Creighton is now 27-2 in its last 29 home games ... Creighton allowed limited fans (1,673) for the first time this season after previously allowing just family members in for the first five home games ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 891 games in a row ... Creighton, which trailed by as much as 13 (22-9), now owns 21 comebacks under Greg McDermott when down by double-figures ... Creighton is now 29-31 in 60 all-time games at CHI Health Center Omaha when trailing by 10 points or more at any point.
Team Stats
XU
CU
FG%
.353
.355
3FG%
.250
.286
FT%
.714
.700
RB
42
45
TO
11
12
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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