Blake Harper racked up 18 points and nine rebounds as Creighton withstood a second-half comeback to defeat Oregon 76-66 in a consolation game of the Players Era men’s tournament Thursday in Las Vegas.
Owen Freeman poured in 14 points and Nik Graves notched 12 points for Creighton (4-3), which shot 44% from the floor but benefited from 19-for-21 accuracy on free throws to snap a two-game losing streak.
The Ducks were in danger of not making a 3-point shot until Jackson Shelstad’s long-range connection with 56 seconds remaining after the team missed its first 13 shots from beyond the arc. They finished 1-for-15 on 3-point attempts.
Sean Stewart led Oregon (4-3) with a career-high 17 points, Dezdrick Lindsay had 14 points and Kwane Evans Jr. provided 12 points and eight rebounds. Shelstad, the team’s leading scorer, settled for nine points and five assists. The Ducks, who played without Wooden Award watch list member Nate Bittle due to an injured ankle, have a three-game losing streak.
It was a matchup pitting former Creighton coach Dana Altman, who directs Oregon, against his ex-team. Altman is the Creighton program’s second-winningest coach behind current coach Greg McDermott.
Creighton made five 3-point shots on 17 attempts, with Josh Dix (2-for-5) the only player in the game with more than one 3-point basket.
Creighton led by as many as 17 points, but the Ducks came storming back after trailing by 44-29 at halftime. Oregon scored eight straight points – capped by Lindsay’s putback with 6:15 left – to pull within 60-59. Graves converted a 3-point play to stop the run, but Stewart’s foul shot with 5:15 to go cut the gap to 63-60.
Freeman drove for a basket and Dix cashed a 3-pointer to restore momentum for the Bluejays.
Graves finished with five assists as the Bluejays committed only five turnovers.
Oregon led 22-21 midway through the first half before Creighton went on a 13-2 run on their way to a 15-point halftime margin. Harper led everyone with 11 points and five rebounds in the first half.
–Field Level Media
