Creighton's balanced attack hems in Xavier for 77-66 win

Jan 26, 2020, 11:12 pm

OMAHA, Neb. -- Ty-Shon Alexander scored 24 points going 10 of 11 from the foul line and Marcus Zegarowski scored 14 and Creighton beat Xavier 77-66 on Sunday.

Mitch Ballock scored 14 and Denzel Mahoney 14 off the bench.

Creighton (16-5, 5-3 Big East Conference) built a 10-1 lead and never trailed. They extended the lead to 33-19 on a pair of free throws by Mahoney followed by his three-point play with 4:56 before halftime. Xavier made a late 12-6 run to get within 39-31 at the break.

The Bluejays started the second half with an 11-6 spurt for a 13-point lead. The Musketeers used a 9-0 outburst to get within 65-59 on a jumper by Naji Marshall with 4:46 left but couldn't get closer.

Zach Freemantle led Xavier with 18 points, Marshall 15 and Tyrique Jones 11 with 13 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive end. Paul Scruggs grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Musketeers owned a 46-28 rebounding advantage. They grabbed 19 boards on the offensive end.

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