Creighton wins late, late show
Bluejays manage to outlast Ducks in double overtime
As if local basketball fans hadn’t experienced enough excitement this weekend, Creighton and Oregon made sureto give the sold-out crowd at PPG Paints Arena one final show late Saturday night that spilled over into Sunday morning.
After enjoying an overtime thriller between NC State and Oakland just a few hours prior, things were taken to another level in the following contest, as 3-seed Creighton needed two overtimes to knock off 11-seeded Oregon by afinal score of 86-73.
Similar to the earlier matchup, where March Madness folk heroes DJ Burns Jr. and Jack Gohlke captivated thecountry with big shots, the Bluejays (25-9) and Ducks (2412) each had their share of standout performances that willbe remembered.
Leading the way for Creighton was Steven Ashworth, who tallied 10 of his team-high 21 points after the end of regulation. And while his effort will be remembered most, it would be wrong to forget the contributions Oregon received from Jermaine Couisnard (32 points and eight rebounds) and N’Faly Dante (28 points and 20 rebounds), who combined to score all but 13 of theirteam’s points.
After leading for the bulk of the action, the third-seeded Bluejays fell behind late thanks to a surge from an upset-minded Oregon squad. However, when it counted most,Greg McDermott’s team remained alive thanks to a game-tying basket from BaylorScheierman with just eight seconds remaining. Following another back-and-forth battle in the first overtime period, Creightonhad a chance to end the game with another heroic effort, but a missed shot at the buzzer from Trey Alexander resulted in five more minutes being needed to determine the winner.
Not long after the clock struck midnight, the Bluejays finally decided to put the Ducks to bed. Creighton opened double overtime on a 12-0 run, sparked by triples from Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner. With little gas remaining in the tank, Oregon scored just two points in the fourth and final period.
For Creighton fans, the victory not only secured their team a spot in the Sweet 16 but also provided sweet revenge, as it came against Oregon coach Dana Altman, who served at the helm of the Bluejays program from 1994 through 2010. Greg McDermott’s team advances to next weekend, where it will face 2seed Tennessee. The Ducks, meanwhile, end their magical run, which included the final Pac-12tournament championship.