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Big East Basketball: Xavier rallies late to defeat Creighton

By Andrew Nostvick

Feb 4, 2017; Omaha, NE, USA; Xavier Musketeers guard Trevon Bluiett (5) drives against Creighton Bluejays center Zach Hanson (40) at CenturyLink Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Omaha, NE, USA; Xavier Musketeers guard Trevon Bluiett (5) drives against Creighton Bluejays center Zach Hanson (40) at CenturyLink Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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Xavier shoots 60 percent in the second half to storm back and get a much-needed Big East basketball victory against the Bluejays.

The Xavier Musketeers knew how the first meeting with Creighton went and didn’t want this second face-off to end in the same fate.

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Xavier overcame a nine-point halftime deficit against the Bluejays to win its third straight game, 82-80. With the win, the Musketeers took sole possession of second place in the Big East.

The Musketeers made 17-of-28 shots, including 8-of-12 from three-point range, during the second half.Trevon Bluiett scored 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting despite hobbling at times on the court due to an ankle injury from the Seton Hall game.

Trevon Bluiett scored 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting despite hobbling at times on the court due to an ankle injury that he suffered versus Seton Hall. Bluiett sank back-to-back three’s in a 30-second span to put Xavier up by five (75-70) with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

J.P. Macura also shined for Xavier despite leaving the game briefly in the second half after injuring his leg. Macura powered through and scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, including a critical three-pointer with 2:09 left to give Xavier a 78-73 lead.

Xavier did all this as they played their second game without Edmond Sumner. Their second leading scorer went down with an ACL tear in last Sunday’s game versus St. John’s.

The Musketeers got off to a hot start in the first half, burning the interior defense of Creighton. However, soon Xavier cooled off, struggling to keep its lead as the Bluejays started sinking three’s. Creighton shot 8-of-16 in the first half, getting ahead by 11 points late during that time.

The scoring stalled as Creighton finished the game 13-of-28 from three. Marcus Foster had a big game in the loss, scoring 17 points. Meanwhile, Khyri Thomas scored 15 points for the Bluejays.

Next: Three takeaways from Purdue's road victory over Maryland

Creighton had won two in a row after losing their first two games without Maurice Watson Jr., who went down for the season with a torn ACL in the first Xavier match-up. The loss, however, puts the Bluejays in a tie for third with Butler, a team they defeated earlier in the week. Xavier will also play DePaul next week as they face off in Cincinnati on Wednesday night.

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