Bishop's Dunk In Final Second Leads Men's Basketball Past Providence, 67-65

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Christian Bishop's dunk with 0.8 seconds left was the difference as No. 11 Creighton escaped Providence with a 67-65 win on Saturday.

Marcus Zegarowski (20) and Damien Jefferson (18) combined for 38 points for the victors. The duo made 16-of-26 shots from the field and combined for nine points during a key 15-0 run midway through the first half gave Creighton (8-2, 4-1 BIG EAST) the lead for good. Jefferson added a career-high six steals and eight rebounds in the contest.

The 15-0 burst put CU ahead 33-24 and included two three-pointers from Mitch Ballock, another trey by Zegarowski and three hoops in the paint from Jefferson. The Friars went nearly 5:30 between scores. Ballock delivered a trademark bomb for nearly 40 feet to beat the halftime buzzer and give the Bluejays a 40-32 lead at the intermission.

Jefferson made 7-of-8 shots in the first half to score 14 points at the break, while also leading CU with five rebounds. Ballock (12) and Zegarowski (11) also cracked double-figures before intermission.. PC was led by eight points each from A.J. Reeves and David Duke after the first 20 minutes, but the duo combined for just 6-of-17 shooting.

Providence scored the first five points of the second half to draw within three, but a Zegarowski triple quickly squashed the Friar momentum. The Bluejays hit timely shots throughout the second half, moving the lead to double-figures at 59-48 for the first time on a dunk in traffic by freshman Ryan Kalkbrenner.

Providence would use an 8-0 run to close within 63-59 with 2:41 to play, only to have Denzel Mahoney's basket end the drought of nearly four minutes. Duke answered to return CU's margin to four (65-61). The teams traded scoreless trips before a huge offensive rebound by Jefferson let CU keep possession with 21.0 left. The Jays would twice miss the front-end of a 1-and-1, and also fouled PC with 15.9 left. The Friars made both and another backcourt turnover with 14.7 left gave PC the ball. Noah Horchler tied it with 7.1 left before Bishop's game-winning dunk with 0.8 left.

Bishop's score came after CU beat the press and Zegarowski found the cutting big man on the run in the middle of the lane. Following a timeout, Duke's heave from 60 feet was off the mark..

PC was led by 13 points each from Duke and Nate Watson.

After playing three of its last four games on the road, Creighton returns home on Wednesday for an 8 p.m. Central game vs. Seton Hall.

NOTES: Providence had won 29 straight jump balls to start the game before Christian Bishop won the tip today vs. PC big man Nate Watson .. Providence is playing home games at Alumni Hall this season rather than its typical venue, Dunkin' Donuts Center. The Friars are not allowing fans in the building ... The contest was Creighton's ninth game as a ranked team against Providence, more than any other foe. Creighton is 5-4 when ranked against the Friars ... Mitch Ballock has made a three-pointer in 16 straight games and Creighton has made a three-pointer in 892 games in a row ... Mitch Ballock moved into 35th place on Creighton's all-time scoring list with 1,103 career points, surpassing Tim Powers (1,093) ... Ryan Kalkbrenner had a season-high four blocked shots ... Creighton has won its first three conference road games for the first time since 2016-17 and has started 4-1 in BIG EAST action for the first time since 2017-18 ... Creighton improved to 7-1 all-time when ranked 11th nationally in the AP poll ... Creighton has now won four of the last five meetings vs. Providence ...The loss was Providence's first at Alumni Hall since falling to No. 12 Duquesne on Dec. 10, 1971 ... Creighton has started 8-2 or better after 10 games for the eighth time in the past 10 seasons ... Creighton improved to 8-3 under Greg McDermott in its first game after Christmas, which includes a 4-3 mark in conference play ... Creighton's four-game winning streak is a season-long.

Bishop's Dunk In Final Second Leads Men's Basketball Past Providence, 67-65

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Team Stats

Marcus Zegarowski

Damien Jefferson

Mitch Ballock

Christian Bishop

Players Mentioned

Mitch Ballock

Christian Bishop

Damien Jefferson

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Denzel Mahoney

Marcus Zegarowski

Players Mentioned

Mitch Ballock

Christian Bishop

Damien Jefferson

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Denzel Mahoney

Marcus Zegarowski