Alexander scores 27 points and Scheierman hits clutch 3s in No. 17 Creighton's 85-78 win over Xavier

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Trey Alexander scored a season-high 27 points and Baylor Scheierman had 15 of his 20 in the second half, leading No. 17 Creighton past Xavier 85-78 on Tuesday night.

Scheierman made four of his five 3-pointers after halftime, with two of them thwarting Xavier comeback bids. Ryan Kalkbrenner added 16 points for the Bluejays (15-5, 6-3 Big East).

Desmond Claude and Dayvion McKnight had 20 points apiece for the Musketeers (10-9, 4-4), who had won a season-best three in a row. McKnight scored 17 in the second half while matching his career high, and he also made a career-best four 3s.

Xavier had its biggest lead, 58-51, midway through the second half but it got wiped out after Creighton snagged a couple of huge offensive rebounds.

Scheierman missed the second of two free throws, but Kalkbrenner rebounded and passed back to Scheierman, who missed a 3. Francisco Farabello got the loose ball and fed Scheierman again. This time his 3 from the wing went in, and after Xavier missed on the other end, Alexander scored to put the Bluejays up 60-59.

Xavier led briefly again before Steven Ashworth’s 3-pointer tied it and Alexander stripped the ball from Quincy Olivari and drove the the length of the court for a layup that gave the Bluejays the lead for good.

Scheierman’s 3-pointer from the top of the key put Creighton up 76-69 with 4:04 left, and another from the same spot made it 79-74 after Xavier had pulled within two.

BIG PICTURE

Xavier: The Musketeers have lost six straight against ranked opponents since beating then-No. 24 Creighton 82-60 in the Big East Tournament last season.

Creighton: Kalkbrenner, Scheierman and Alexander each played at least 53 minutes in Saturday's 97-93 triple-overtime win at Seton Hall and were playing on two days' rest. The Bluejays got a combined three points and 27 minutes from three reserves and, with such limited depth, must be wary of the Big East grind catching up with them.

UP NEXT

Xavier: Will play No. 1 UConn in Hartford, Connecticut, on Sunday.

Creighton: Will host DePaul on Saturday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball