|
 Creighton, though, couldn't put the Friars away, and Dunn eventually
got going, hitting a jumper at the buzzer to give No. 12 Providence
a 50-48 comeback Big East road victory Tuesday at CenturyLink Center
in Omaha, Nebraska.
Dunn, the Big East's leading scorer, finished with 20 points -- 16
coming in the second half to fuel Providence's rally. The junior
gave the Friars their first lead on a pair of free throws with 4:14
to play before hitting a step-back jumper as time expired.
Bluejays guard Maurice Watson Jr. tied the score at 48 on a reverse
layup with 20 seconds to play.
Providence coach Ed Cooley, who was battling vertigo, elected not to
call timeout on the Friars' ensuing possession, putting the ball in
Dunn's hands. It was a good decision.
Dunn brought the ball up the court, crossed over from right to left
and got a friendly roll off the back of the iron on the winning
basket to help Providence (15-2, 3-1 Big East) bounce back from last
week's loss to Marquette.
"It always feels good when you hit a game-winning shot," Dunn said.
Forward Ben Bentil added 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds for
the Friars, who have won nine of 10. They trailed by seven with
eight minutes to play before mounting their charge.
It was the 11th consecutive loss to a ranked opponent for Creighton,
which couldn't get any offense going in the second half. The
Bluejays went scoreless in a three-minute stretch midway through the
second half and saw their lead evaporate.
Forward Toby Hegner came off the bench to lead the Bluejays (12-6,
3-2) with 11 points.
Providence got off to a slow start and struggled to get on track.
The Friars didn't score until more than six minutes had elapsed, and
Dunn made only one of nine field-goal attempts in the first half.
"We found a way to be competitive in a game when our offense was
anemic," said Creighton coach Greg McDermott, who praised his
players' defense but knew his team missed an opportunity against a
quality opponent. "(Providence) is a really good basketball team.
When you've got Kris Dunn with the ball in his hands and there's no
five-seconds call, I don't care who you are, this is a really tough
team to guard, and we held them to 50 points."
[to top of second column] |
The Bluejays shot 25.8 percent from the floor and made only 5 of 23
3-point attempts. Watson, the reigning Big East Player of the Week,
finished with nine points and five assists, and guard Isaiah Zierden
added eight points.
Creighton led the entire first half behind a strong effort from its
bench. Thanks to nine points on three 3-pointers from Hegner, the
Bluejays' reserves outscored Providence's bench 18-6 prior to
intermission. Forward Zach Hanson's layup put Creighton up 19-7.
The Friars finally found some offense and cut the deficit to 21-18
on a 3-pointer from guard Jalen Lindsey. Creighton scored the final
four points of the half and went into the break leading 25-18.
Providence shot 18 percent from the floor and turned it over eight
times in the first half, but it managed to find some offense at the
right time.
"We stayed confident," said Friars assistant head coach Andre
LaFleur, who stepped in for Cooley in the postgame press conference.
NOTES: Creighton G Maurice Watson Jr. was selected the Big East
Player of the Week after back-to-back big performances. He followed
up his career-high 27-point game in a victory over Georgetown with a
13-point, 14-assist outing at Seton Hall. ... Providence G Kris Dunn
has scored 20 or more points in four consecutive games.
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