Creighton Falls In OT At Providence

Photo Credit: Creighton Athletics

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Creighton senior Baylor Scheierman became the first men's player in NCAA Division I history to surpass 2,000 career points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 three-pointers, but it wasn't enough as Providence topped No. 19 Creighton in overtime at Amica Mutual Pavilion for the second straight year, 91-87.

Scheierman recorded his ninth double-double of the year, finishing with 27 points and 11 rebounds. He has scored 899 of his 2,013 career points at Creighton and also owns 1,135 rebounds (500 at Creighton), 525 assists (205 at Creighton) and 318 three-pointers (159 at Creighton).

Creighton (16-7, 7-5 BIG EAST) led more than 16 minutes of the first half and took a 33-31 lead into the break. CU was led by 11 points from Trey Alexander, while Scheierman had seven points and seven rebounds. The Bluejays also got a boost from its bench, with Francisco Farabello sinking a three-pointer and Jasen Green scoring his first two baskets since December on a pair of layups. Josh Oduro scored 13 of PC's first 15 points and had 15 at the break, while Devin Carter scored PC's final five of the half after just two points in the opening 19 minutes.

The second half started with a flurry, as the teams combined for 31 points on 12-for-12 shooting in the first four minutes. Carter started the half with the steal and layup to tie the game and later drained a transition triple to deafening cheers to give PC a 47-43 lead. But Scheierman was more than up to the task, sinking his first five shots of the second half to account for CU's initial 13 points after the break. Included in the flurry was a driving layup with 18:17 remaining that put the fifth-year senior over the 2,000 point mark in his career.

Hanging onto a narrow one-point lead, Providence used an 8-2 run to build a 57-50 lead and force a Bluejay timeout with 12:02 left. Oduro began the burst with back-to-back dunks, while Corey Floyd Jr. had a putback before a score in transition to electrify the near-capacity crowd of 12,078. Down 58-50 a minute later, Steven Ashworth started CU's comeback with a three-ball from the top of the key, then fed Farabello in transition for another triple. Ashworth buried his second trey of the game in transition to narrow CU's deficit to one with 9:06 left. CU knotted the score at 62 with 8:12 left on a traditional three-point play by Ryan Kalkbrenner.

The Friars retook the lead on baskets by Ticket Gaines and Garwey Dual, only to have Kalkbrenner convert another thee-point play with 6:45 left to bring CU within one. A drive from Scheierman gave CU a 67-66 lead with 5:20 left, its first lead in more than 12 minutes. The lead would be short lived as 70 seconds later a stepback three-pointer by Carter returned the lead to PC. Oduro then made a pair of foul shots with 3:33 left after the last media timeout to give PC a four-point edge at 71-67. Alexander's three-ball hit the rim and backboard before rolling in, trimming the PC lead to one. After an Oduro basket, Ashworth's third trey of the half tied the game at 73 with 2:22 left. After Oduro and Alexander traded baskets the Friars milked much of the shot clock before Oduro missed and CU called timeout in the frontcourt with 59.6 left.

CU went for a 2-for-1 and Ashworth buried a trey with 45.5 left to give CU a 78-75 lead and its biggest edge of the second half, but Carter sank a 40-foot heave with 27.0 left to tie the score once again. Ashworth's one-handed floater from the charity stripe hit the front rim and PC called timeout with 2.4 seconds left. PC then inbounded the ball to Oduro, who called PC's final timeout of regulation just across midcourt with 1.7 seconds left. The Friars tried to lob it to backup center Rafael Castro, but Jayden Pierre's inbounds pass deflected off the rim and picked up by Scheierman to send the game to overtime for the second straight season at Amica Mutual Pavilion.

Gaines and Ashworth traded three-pointers to open the overtime scoring column before CU took an 83-81 lead on a corner shot by Scheierman that was reviewed and changed to a two-pointer. Carter answered on a three-ball as PC regained the lead with 2:25 left in OT. A reverse lay-up by Pierre put PC up 86-83 with 1:25 left, but Scheierman connected on a foul shot with 1:07 left to trim the CU gap to two. Oduro's driving layup with 53.4 left put PC up three and the Jays missed a game-tying three-ball. The Jays forced a turnover on a steal by Alexander, only to commit an offensive foul to turn the ball back over. The Friars iced the game at the line from there, going up seven before a triple from Ashworth with 6.1 left in OT.

Oduro led PC with a career-high 32 points while Carter finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. PC made 12-of-14 free throws and shot 46.6 percent from the field, including 11-of-26 from three-point land. The Friars held a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers, a 46-22 lead in the paint and 10-3 edge in fast break points.

Scheierman topped CU with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Alexander had 18. Ashworth scored 18 of his 20 points after the half, making his first five three-point attempts before a late miss.. The Jays made 14-of-29 three-pointers and dished 20 assists on 33 baskets.

Creighton stays on the road until its next game, a Saturday morning tilt at Xavier that tips at 11:30 a.m. Central and will air on FOX.