Villanova 80 - 101 13Creighton
Final
  for this game

McDermott leads Creighton past Villanova

Feb 17, 2014 - 1:01 AM Omaha, NE (SportsNetwork.com) - Doug McDermott tied his season-high with 39 points and No. 18 Creighton took a 101-80 victory over No. 6 Villanova in a crucial Big East battle on Sunday.

McDermott shot 13-of-17, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and hit all nine of his free throws while adding seven rebounds for the Bluejays (21-4, 11-2 Big East), who have won their past two games. Isaiah Zierden scored a personal-best 13 points and Devin Brooks added 12 in the win.

McDermott passed Larry Bird for 13th all-time on the college scoring list as he now sits at 2,863 points. Bird finished his career with 2,850.

Thanks to this win and a 96-68 victory over Villanova on Jan. 20, in which the team hit a school record 21 3-pointers, Creighton now sits in first place in the conference.

James Bell had 18 points and six rebounds, while JayVaughn Pinkston gave 15 points and five rebounds for the Wildcats (22-3, 10-2), who had won six straight after last month's loss to Creighton.

The last time this game was tied was about 2 1/2 minutes in after Ryan Arcidiacono hit two free throws for Villanova. Creighton scored the next five points and was able to stay in front despite Villanova keeping it close.

James Bell hit a 3-pointer with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half to cut the Wildcats' deficit to 35-31, but Chatman countered with a 3-pointer to start an 11-0 burst, and the Bluejays eventually took a 50-37 lead into the break.

A quick 7-0 run early in the second half extended Creighton's advantage to 57-39 4 1/2 minutes in and Villanova was unable to cut significantly into its disadvantage.

The closest the game got was 14 points, as Creighton built its lead as high as 24 points in the easy finish.

Game Notes

Creighton plays at Marquette on Wednesday ... It was the most points given up in a game by Villanova this season ... Villanova plays at Providence on Tuesday ... Creighton shot 64.2 percent, while Villanova made 46 percent of its shots.






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