Creighton wins, loses PG Watson

Maurice Watson Jr. raised his index finger while the Bluejays carried him off the court. Creighton’s injured point guard knew how much this one meant.

The question is how long they’ll be without him.

Watson went to the bench in the first half with a knee i njury, and t he No. 7 Bluejays wasted an 11-point lead before rallying for a 72-67 victory over No. 22 Xavier in Cincinnati on Monday.

The Bluejays (18-1, 5-1 Big East) scored the final six points after Xavier (13-5, 3-3) pulled ahead 67-66.

“It’s an incredible win for our program,” coach Greg McDermott said. “We don’t play much without Maurice Watson. We haven’t all year.

“That was a culture win for us, guys doing what they’re supposed to do and being ready.”

Watson — the national leader with 8.8 assists per game — hurt his left knee when he hit the court hard after scoring on a layup in the first half. He was on crutches for the second half.

“It meant the world to me when my teammates carried me off the court,” Watson said. “One of the things I wanted to work on was to be a better leader. For them to embrace me like that means a lot to me.” Williams wins No. 800: Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams earned his 800th career victory when Isaiah Hicks scored 20 points to lead No. 9 North Carolina to an 85-68 victory over Syracuse in Chapel Hill, N.C

Kennedy Meeks added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Tar Heels (17-3, 5-1 ACC). UNC never trailed after the game’s opening possession and stayed a step ahead of the hotshooting Orange (11-8, 3-3).

Syracuse got as close as three early in the second half, but the Tar Heels ultimately ran off a 7-0 flurry in the final 5 minutes to stretch the lead to 15. Also: Louisville G Quentin Snider will miss 2-3 weeks with an injured hip, leaving the No. 12 Cardinals without their assists leader and No. 2 scorer. … The Mountain West Conference admonished New Mexico and Colorado State for an incident Saturday between New Mexico assistant Terrence Rencher and Colorado State F Emmanuel Omogbo.