Butler erases 13-point deficit, upsets No. 8 Creighton in OT

Aaron Thompson scored 17 points and found Bryce Nze for the go-ahead layup with 68 seconds left in overtime Saturday to complete Butler’s remarkable second-half comeback with a 70-66 upset of visiting No. 8 Creighton in Indianapolis.

The Bulldogs overcame a 71-58 deficit over the final 7 ½ minutes of regulation and also scored the final seven points in overtime after trailing 66-62. Butler (4-7, 3-5 Big East) has won four straight home games against the Bluejays.

Denzel Mahoney scored 23 of his season-high 29 points in the second half to lead Creighton (10-3, 6-2), which had a six-game winning streak snapped.

The Bulldogs opened a 35-25 lead when Nze started the second half with a 3-pointer, but they quickly squandered it by missing 14 consecutive shots.

Creighton took full advantage, with Mahoney scoring 12 points during a 16-1 run to give the Bluejays a 41-36 lead. Mahoney’s threepoint play with 11:28 left extended the margin to 51-38.

Butler answered with a 17-2 spurt and took a 62-60 lead on Thompson’s layup with 57.4 seconds left in regulation. Mahoney tied it with two free throws and the Bulldogs missed three shots on the final possession.

Marquette 73, St. John’s 71: Koby McEwen made a layup with 27 seconds remaining and Theo John had a big block in the closing seconds to lead visiting Marquette.

After McEwen’s drive down the left side of the lane, John swatted Vince Cole’s drive. The Red Storm got the ball back but a desperation 3 at the buzzer was off the mark.

D.J. Carton posted 14 points to lead the Golden Eagles (8-6, 4-4 Big East Conference). Greg Elliott and Justin Lewis added 13 points with Lewis grabbing and seven rebounds. Dawson Garcia had 11 points.

Julian Champagnie had 20 points for the Red Storm (7-7, 2-6). Greg Williams Jr. added 15 points. Posh Alexander had eight assists and five steals.

DePaul 77, Valparaiso 58: At Chicago, Romeo Weems had 20 points as DePaul won the nonconference game.

Charlie Moore had 14 points for DePaul (2-4), which ended its fourgame losing streak. Pauly Paulicap added 11 points and nine rebounds andDariousHallgrabbed10boards.

Eron Gordon had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Crusaders (3-8).