Marcus Carr scored 19 points and Brock Cunningham hit two free throws with four seconds to play to ice the game as No. 2 Texas beat No. 7 Creighton 72-67 on Thursday in a Big East/Big 12 Battle game in Austin, Texas.
The Longhorns (6-0), playing their first game with their highest ranking since 2010, led by five points at halftime and took decisive charge midway through the second half when a 10-0 run pushed their advantage to 11 points. After Creighton clawed back to within 62-59, Carr and Tyrese Hunter hit consecutive jumpers in a 27-second stretch to push the lead back to seven points.
Baylor Scheierman’s 3-pointer with 11.4 seconds to play brought the Bluejays to within one possession. Carr’s two free throws with 10 seconds left was countered by a layup by Ryan Nembhard before Cunningham’s free throws – his only points of the game – assured Texas the victory.
Hunter added 15 points for the Longhorns, with Timmy Allen scoring 11 and Dillon Mitchell hitting for 10.
Ryan Kalkbrenner paced Creighton (6-2) with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Nembhard added 17 points and Arthur Kaluma and Scheierman hit for 13 each. Scheierman also took 11 rebounds in the loss. All of the Bluejays’ points came from their starters.
Creighton’s No. 7 ranking is tied for its highest ever, a spot it previously held four times, all since January 2017.
The Bluejays took a 17-16 lead in a back-and forth start to the game after a pair of free throws by Trey Alexander with 11:46 to play. Texas reeled off the next six points capped by a jumper and then a layup off a steal by Hunter and held Creighton scoreless for more than five minutes.
The Longhorns only led 22-16 after all that solid defensive work and Creighton responded, scoring eight of the next 10 points and going up 25-24 when Kaluma hit a layup at the 4:20 mark. Texas swung right back, ending the half with its own 8-2 run to take a 32-27 advantage at the break.
Kalkbrenner scored 10 points in the half on 5 of 5 shooting to lead Creighton while Kaluma had nine points for the Bluejays. Hunter led the Longhorns with nine points over the first 20 minutes.
–Field Level Media
