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Creighton wins second annual Cayman Islands Classic

NCAA Basketball Tournament - First Round - Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: Ty-Shon Alexander #5 of the Creighton Bluejays passes the ball against Kansas State Wildcats during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands -- Sophomore Ty-Shon Alexander made seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 36 points to lead Creighton past No. 16 Clemson 87-82 on Wednesday night in the championship game of the second annual Cayman Islands Classic.

Alexander, who was named the most outstanding player of the tournament, was 9-of-16 shooting, missing just five from distance, and made all 11 of his free throws.

Clemson’s Marcquise Reed completed a 3-point play with 28 seconds left and Elijah Thomas forced a turnover on an inbound play, leading to Shelton Mitchell’s shot inside to pull to 83-80. Davion Mintz answered with two free throws at the other end, and after Reed was off on a 3-pointer, Mintz sealed it with a dunk.

Creighton (5-1) has back-to-back home games against Montana and No. 3 Gonzaga, which upset top-ranked Duke 89-87 earlier Wednesday in Maui.

Reed was 11 of 22 from the floor and scored 27 points for Clemson (5-1), reaching 1,001 points with the team. David Skara had eight points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who play in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Monday against Nebraska.