Creighton Men Win Triple-OT Thriller at Seton Hall
Photo Credit: Creighton Athletics
NEWARK, N.J. -- Ryan Kalkbrenner had 28 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots as the No. 18 Creighton men's basketball team overcame a nine-point deficit with 13 minutes left to earn a 97-94 triple-overtime win at BIG EAST leader Seton Hall on Saturday afternoon before a sellout crowd of 10,481 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The game was the second triple-overtime contest in the history of both program's, and Creighton's first such win ever.
Creighton improved to 14-5 (5-3 BIG EAST) with its seventh victory in the past nine meetings against the Pirates, while Seton Hall (13-6, 6-2 BIG EAST) had its five-game win streak snapped and fell to 9-2 at home this winter.
The Bluejays raced out of the gates to the tune of a 13-6 lead, scoring on six of their first nine possessions to force an early Seton Hall timeout. The Pirates would not take their first lead until a mid-range jumper from the right baseline by Dre Davis to make it 24-23. Davis would not make a shot in the final seven minutes of the half as Creighton rallied to take a 35-31 lead into the break.
Kalkbrenner had 13 points, four rebounds and three swats in the opening half as Creighton shot 45.2 percent and had just one turnover. Seton Hall got 13 points from Davis in the opening half and owned a 17-15 lead on the glass.
Seton Hall scored the first nine points of the second half, including Al-Amir Dawes first five points of game, to build a 40-35 lead. The run, which eventually reached 20-4 spanning halftime, saw the Pirates take a lead as large as 48-39 before back-to-back three-pointers from seniors Steven Ashworth and Francisco Farabello stopped the bleeding. The Bluejay burst continued and Kalkbrenner through down a thunderous dunk in traffic as CU retook the lead at 53-52.
Creighton continued its momentum, getting three-pointers from Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman, as CU's lead stretched to 60-54 with 6:22 left. Seton Hall countered with a hoop by Dawes and the second three-pointer of the season by Elijah Hutchins-Everett.
Leading by one at the final media timeout, the Bluejays ran the break and found Farabello in transition for a corner three-pointer to go up four with 2;46 left. Dawes answered to halve the Pirate deficit and Jaden Bediako's layup with 1:30 left tied the game. The Jays went inside on its next possession but Kalkbrenner was blocked amidst contact and Seton Hall took over with 52 seconds left. SHU isolated Kadary Richmond. He drove and was blocked twice by Alexander, but his tip try with 29.2 went in to give Seton Hall the 67-65 lead.
Creighton called its final two timeouts with 12.2 left while struggling to inbound the ball from the left sideline. Ashworth made the most of the possession with a scoop shot with 3.3 left to tie the game at 67 all. CU had two fouls to give and used one near mid-court with 1.2 seconds left. Seton Hall's sideline out-of-bounds play found Richmond, but his turnaround fadeaway was short to send the game to overtime.
The Pirates scored on their opening trip of overtime to take a lead before two foul shots from Alexander evened the score. An alley-oop to Kalkbrenner with 2:25 left gave CU a 71-69 lead. He'd score again with 1:14 left as CU's grew to 73-69 advantage. Davis responded with a baby hook with 56.0 left, dropping CU's margin to 73-71. Alexander then got a friendly roll with 30.7 seconds left to return the lead to four. Richmond was fouled and made a pair with 24.6 left.
Alexander trekked to the stripe with 22.7 ticks left and missed the front end of the bonus. it proved costly as Richmond would miss but Davis tipped it in. CU pushed it upcourt and found an open Scheierman, but his three-pointer rimmed out to force double-OT.
The teams traded scores twice and were tied at 79 midway through the second overtime. A three-ball by Mason Miller with 2:02 left gave CU an 82-79 lead. CU got multiple stops and Kalkbrenner hauled down a rebound with 34 seconds left. Ashworth was fouled with 25.0 seconds left, disqualifying Davis, and he made the first to put CU up four with 25.4 left. Dawes was fouled beyond the arc with 13.4 left, sinking each, to make it a one-point difference. CU turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and fouled Richmond with 12.2 left. He made the first but missed the second giving CU yet another chance, but Alexander's pull-up jumper was off the mark to force a third overtime session.
Seton Hall scored the first five points of the extra session, getting a basket by Richmond and a three-pointer from Dawes to move up 88-83 with 3:18 left. Scheierman made two foul shots with 3:06 left to make it a one-score game. Isaiah Coleman made 1-of-2 free throws to put The Hall up four with 2:31 left. Ashworth buried top of the key triple with 1:24 left to trim SHU's lead to one. Ashworth then drew an offensive foul with 1:12 left. Alexander's six-foot jumper with 55.6 left gave Creighton the 90-89 advantage.
Richmond drove the lane and was fouled with 42.3 left and made both to give the Pirates the 91-90 lead. Alexander gave CU the 93-91 lead with a triple with 28.4 left.and Dawes missed inside. Ashworth was fouled with 12.0 left and sank both to give CU a four-point lead. The Pirates missed and Scheierman was fouled with 6.1 left and sank both before a desperation triple with 0.6 seconds left provided the final margin.
Kalkbrenner led Creighton with 28 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots, while Scheierman (20) and Alexander (23) also scored in double-figures. Alexander also contributed eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots, and Scheierman chipped in with 10 rebounds and six assists. CU made 13 three-pointers and dished 23 assists against just six turnovers.
Seton Hall got 21 points by Davis, while Dawes scored all of his team-high 21 points after halftime. Richmond had a triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Creighton opens a three-game homestand on Tuesday, Jan. 23rd when it hosts Xavier at 7:30 p.m. in a game that will air on FS1.
