Ty-Shon Alexander's game-high 24 points led four players in double figures Sunday as Creighton never trailed en route to a 77-66 Big East Conference win over Xavier in Omaha, Neb.
Marcus Zegarowski scored 15 points and dished out six assists for the Bluejays (16-5, 5-3), while Mitch Ballock and reserve Denzel Mahoney added 14 points each. Creighton connected on 11 3-pointers, shot 45.1 percent from the field and converted 15 Musketeer turnovers into 17 points.
Freshman Zach Freemantle scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds to pace Xavier (13-7, 2-5). Naji Marshall added 15 points but also committed six turnovers, and Tyrique Jones chipped in 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Musketeers dominated the glass 46-28, but undid themselves with poor shooting and their inability to take care of the ball. Xavier finished the day at 39.4 percent from the field, including 6 of 21 from the 3-point line.
The Bluejays led 65-50 with 7:07 remaining before the Musketeers ran off nine straight points, closing within six on Marshall's jumper at the 4:42 mark. But Mahoney stopped the spurt with two free throws and the lead never dipped below six after that.
Creighton landed the first punch, establishing a 10-1 lead about five minutes into the game as Xavier came out cold, missing a spate of good looks. The Bluejays lived off that cushion for the day's remainder, building on it a couple of times later in the first half.
The Musketeers needed 5 ½ minutes to make a field goal, and couldn't find any real traction until later in the half. In the meantime, Creighton hit five 3-pointers in the first 13 minutes to build a 26-15 advantage, then expanded it to 33-19 at the 4:55 mark on Mahoney's 3-point play.
Xavier finally got into a bit of a rhythm after the last TV timeout, taking momentum into the locker room when Bryce Moore stuck a 3-ball as time expired. That cut its deficit to 39-31 at halftime.
--Field Level Media
