National Basketball Association
Creighton 79, Xavier 72
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Where: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Officials:
# James Breeding, # Brent Hampton, # Robert Riley
Attendance:
9843
By SportsDirect Inc.
Creighton 79, Xavier 72: James Milliken scored eight of his 12 points in overtime and the visiting Bluejays stunned the host Musketeers for their second Big East victory.
Rick Kreklow led Creighton (11-13, 2-9 Big East) with 17 points and Devin Brooks added 13 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Bluejays, who never trailed in the extra session. Milliken opened the overtime with back-to-back 3-pointers for Creighton and Austin Chatman added 12 points, including two huge free throws with 16 seconds left to play giving the Bluejays a 75-72 lead.
Jalen Reynolds scored 17 points off the bench for Xavier, which had its 19-game home winning streak snapped. Remy Abell added 16, Dee Davis had 12 and Matt Stainbrook had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Musketeers (14-9, 5-6) who have lost two straight and made one field goal in overtime.
The Bluejays led by as much as 10 in the first half and got a dozen points from Kreklow to take a 32-29 advantage into the break. Xavier built a 64-61 lead with 1:42 to play in regulation but Geoff Groselle followed a pair of Kreklow free throws with a layup, giving Creighton a one-point lead before Davis tied the game at 65 by hitting 1-of-2 free throws with 35 seconds to play to set up the overtime.
Milliken gave Creighton a 68-65 lead on the first possession of overtime and after Stainbrook hit two free throws, he knocked down another from beyond the arc. Groselle (15 points) banked in a shot to give Creighton a 73-69 lead before Davis connected on a 3-pointer with 1:18 left to cut the deficit to 73-72, but Xavier never scored again.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Xavier missed its first six 3-pointers and went 8-for-22 from the floor in the first half. ...Reynolds blocked a drive by Brooks to preserve the tie with 1.8 seconds left in regulation. ... Xavier's Trevon Bluiett, the Big East Freshman of the Week, was 0-for-6 from the field and finished with two points.
Top Game Performances
Creighton |
|
Xavier |
Ricky Kreklow 17 |
Scoring |
Jalen Reynolds 17 |
Devin Brooks 6 |
Assists |
Dee Davis 9 |
Devin Brooks 12 |
Rebounds |
Jalen Reynolds 8 |
Devin Brooks 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Jalen Reynolds 7 |
Devin Brooks 3 |
Steals |
Jalen Reynolds 3 |
Devin Brooks 1 |
Blocks |
Jalen Reynolds 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Creighton
|
79 |
45.8 |
10-24 |
15-19 |
15 |
37 |
3 |
6 |
17 |
Xavier
|
72 |
38.6 |
6-19 |
22-29 |
17 |
29 |
3 |
7 |
10 |