NEWARK, N.J. — Damien Jefferson, Ty-Shon Alexander, Marcus Zegarowski and Denzel Mahoney all scored 18 points and No. 23 Creighton posted its second road win over a Top 10 team this month with an 87-82 decision over No. 10 Seton Hall on Wednesday night.
Christian Bishop added 11 points as the Bluejays (19-6, 8-4 Big East) won for the sixth time in seven games, including a win at No. 8 Villanova at the start of the month.
Quincy McKnight had 20 points to lead Seton Hall (18-6, 10-2), which lost for the second time in 14 games. Sandro Mamukelashvili and Romaro Gill added 13 points apiece for the Pirates.
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The key to Creighton’s win was the defensive job it did on Preseason All America Myles Powell. The senior guard finished with 12 points on 3 of 16 shooting from the field, including 1 of 11 from long range. The made 3 was in the final seconds.
Trailing 66-62 with 7:53 to play, Mahoney hit two free throws and a 3-pointer in an 11-2 run that gave Creighton a 73-68 lead.
Seton Hall managed to cut the lead to three points twice, but Powell missed a tying 3-point attempt on the second time.
A layup by Gill closed the gap to 75-74 with 1:21 but Mahoney nailed a wide-open 3-pointer with 1:06 left to push the lead to four points. A three-point play by Jared Rhoden got the Seton Hall with 81-79 with 16 seconds left but Alexander hit four free throws and Mahoney two to ice the game.
Zegarowski hit a short jumped in the waning second to give smaller and quicker Creighton a 41-39 halftime lead. Neither team led by more than eight points in the opening 20 minutes and both teams saw a big man get in foul trouble.
Bishop and Sandro Mamukelashvili both picked up three fouls in the first half.
Powell, who was named the conference player of the week on Monday, missed all five of his shots in the half and had five points.
BIG PICTURE
Creighton: This is a quick, good-shooting team. They are peaking and have gotten better since Mahoney became eligible at the end of the first semester. A higher spot in the rankings is coming.
Seton Hall: The Pirates stayed close despite Powell. He can’t afford to have a game like this in the NCAA Tournament if Seton Hall expects to do anything. They will drop a little in the poll.
UP NEXT
Creighton: Host DePaul Saturday night.
Seton Hall: at Providence on Saturday night.