OMAHA, Neb. — Powered by a season-high 17 treys, the Creighton mens basketball team downed Georgetown 91-76 on Wednesday, March 4 at the CHI Health Center.
With the win the Bluejays moved to 23-7 on the season and 12-5 in BIG EAST play, while Georgetown fell to 15-15 overall and 5-12 in conference action.
The Bluejays came out firing as junior Ty-Shon Alexander knocked down Creightons first two shots from beyond the arc, helping Creighton bounce out to a 14-5 advantage with 15:00 remaining in the opening frame. The Hoyas responded to the challenge by pounding the ball into the middle to pull within one at 21-20 (9:37).
The game turned over the next minute of game time as Creighton rattled off a 10-0 run in 53 seconds. Junior Denzel Mahoney kept the Bluejays in front with a traditional three-point play to put Creighton up 24-20 (9:15). Following a Georgetown turnover, the Bluejays found sophomore Marcus Zegarowski from beyond the arc. On the next Hoyas possession the Georgetown bench got irate that a foul was not called, instead Creighton went to the other end for a put back bucket from junior Damien Jefferson to put the Bluejays up 29-20.
Immediately the Hoyas used a timeout and head coach Patrick Ewing was issued a technical foul. Alexander sank both free throws when play resumed, giving Creighton a 31-20 edge with 8:22 on the clock. Riding the momentum the Bluejays extended their lead to as much as 18 at 45-27 (1:48) and took a 48-33 lead into halftime.
Creighton continued to fire from long range in the second half, pushing its advantage to 21 at 60-39 (16:05), courtesy of a pair of three-pointers from junior Mitch Ballock. The Hoyas rallied with an 10-2 run to bring the Bluejay edge down to 62-49 (13:04), yet treys from Ballock and Mahoney kept the Hoyas at bay.
Moments later another three-pointer from the top of the arc by Mahoney pushed Creightons back to 20 (77-57) with 9:59 remaining in the game. The Bluejays went on to lead by as much as 26 points at 91-65 (3:30). The Hoyas closed the game with an 11-0 run, but the outcome was no longer in doubt.
Ballock and Zegarowski led the Bluejays with 20 points in the victory, while Alexander and Mahoney finished with 18 and 14 points respectively. Georgetown got a game-high 22 points from Jahvon Blair, while Qudus Wahab collected his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Creightons 17 three-pointers was the second most by a Bluejay squad in BIG EAST play, matching the 17 treys Creighton hit against Marquette last season on Jan. 9, 2019 in the CHI Health Center. The program record in a BIG EAST game was 21 in Creightons 96-68 win at Villanova on Jan. 20, 2014.
The Bluejays return to the hardwood on Saturday, March 7 as Creighton hosts Seton Hall at 1:30 pm in the CHI Health Center.
