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Gibbs leads Seton Hall over Creighton

Jan 11, 2015 - 2:07 AM Omaha, NE (SportsNetwork.com) - Down by two with three seconds to play, Sterling Gibbs hit a contested 3-pointer to help No. 19 Seton Hall slip past Creighton, 68-67, on Saturday.

Gibbs paced all scorers with 22 points for the Pirates (13-3, 3-1 Big East), who rebounded after suffering their first Big East loss of the season on Wednesday at Xavier.

Khadeen Carrington chipped in 11 points for Seton Hall, and Brandon Mobley added nine points, 13 rebounds and two blocks.

In his first career start, James Milliken scored 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting for the short-handed Bluejays (9-8, 0-4). Creighton's top two scorers, Austin Chatman and Isaiah Zierden, combined to play just 19 minutes due to injuries.

Will Artino contributed 14 points and 11 boards for the Bluejays.

With 7:51 to go, Angel Delgado hit a pair of free throws to put Seton Hall up 54-50. Neither team would lead by more than three the rest of the game.

Toby Hegner's triple a minute later gave the Bluejays a 55-54 lead, but Jaren Sina's long-distance shot two possessions later returned the lead to the Pirates.

Seton Hall held a 65-63 advantage before Artino hit a pair of free throws to even the game. His tip-in off a Milliken miss gave the Bluejays a 67-65 edge with 17 seconds to play.

At the other end, Pirates coach Kevin Willard called timeout after 10 seconds of stagnant offense. Gibbs inbounded the ball, got open to receive the return pass from Mobley and spun away from Avery Dingman to create just enough room to hit the go-ahead triple.

"It's not the way you draw it up, but sometimes, you have to get it into your best player's hands, and he's got to make a play," said Willard.

Milliken got an open look to win the game as time expired, but he was just off the mark.

"This is as proud as I've ever felt, win or lose," said Creighton coach Greg McDermott. "It's a make-or-miss game, and they made a tough one. We got a pretty good look, and we missed it."

Each team went through droughts from the field in the first half. Creighton hit just two of its first 10 attempts as Seton Hall built up what would be its largest lead of the game at seven points.

The Bluejays made four of their last five shots and closed the half on an 8-2 run. Rick Kreklow hit a 3-pointer with a minute to go, and Devin Brooks' jumper with three seconds left gave Creighton a 32-30 lead at the break.

Game Notes

Seton Hall had lost two in a row against Creighton ... The Bluejays shot 51.1 percent, ending a 61-game winning streak when shooting better than 50 percent ... Seton Hall scored 14 points off nine Bluejays turnovers ... Creighton outscored Seton Hall in the paint, 36-22 ... The Pirates take the court next against Butler on Tuesday while Creighton travels to Marquette on Wednesday.