PITTSBURGH — Despite trailing by four points in the final 30 seconds of regulation, No. 3 Creighton rallied and saved enough energy to eventually pull away from No. 11 Oregon, sealing an 86-73 win at PPG Paints Arena that started Saturday night but didn’t end until early Sunday morning after two overtimes.
It looked like it would end in regulation before Bluejays senior forward Baylor Scheierman came to the rescue. Scheierman hit two free throws with 27 seconds left in regulation to bring the Bluejays within two, then he hit a jump shot with eight seconds left to tie the game at 62 after Oregon star N’Faly Dante missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Creighton survived a Jermaine Couisnard shot at the regulation buzzer. Couisnard hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with 16 seconds left in the first overtime, then Creighton’s Trey Alexander missed at the first overtime buzzer.
“Epic game,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “Not sure I’ve been part of one quite like it.”
Despite a tough shooting night overall, Creighton (25-9) moves on to play No. 2 Tennessee next week in the Sweet 16 after holding Oregon to just two points in the second overtime. Both teams were gassed, but Creighton seniors Steven Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner hit 3-pointers to create some cushion and deflate an Oregon team that had five players play at least 37 minutes.
Ashworth led Creighton with 21 points. Alexander had 20, Kalkbrenner had 19 and Scheierman had 18. Alexander and Scheierman played all 50 minutes.
Couisnard had 32, while Dante had 28 points and 21 rebounds.
Bluejays fight back
Creighton was down and almost buried, but the Bluejays never showed outward frustration. A senior-laden team kept its composure and let Scheierman lead down the stretch in regulation. Creighton didn’t get the free-flowing game they prefer, and they shot just 29-of-75 on the night. But deep reserve Jasen Green pitched in, Ashworth kept shooting and Kalkbrenner kept enough energy to come up big in the extra periods despite battling Dante all night.
This was a high-level game, and a battle-tested Creighton team is fortunate to dance on.
Required reading
(Photo: Gregory Fisher / USA Today)
