PITTSBURGH — Steven Ashworth scored 21 points and ignited the game-winning, 15-point run to propel No. 3 seed Creighton to an 86-73 win over No. 11 seed Oregon in double overtime in the second round of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region on Saturday night.
Trey Alexander tallied 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Ryan Kalkbrenner had 19 points, 14 boards and five blocks for the Bluejays (25-9), who escaped a tough second half and will play No. 2 seed Tennessee in the Sweet 16. Baylor Scheierman added 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Oregon’s two-man wrecking crew of Jermaine Couisnard and N’Faly Dante ran out of gas in the second overtime. Couisnard finished with 32 points and eight rebounds, and Dante racked up 28 points and 20 rebounds for the Ducks (24-12); the duo combined for all 28 of Oregon’s second-half points.
In a game with 14 lead changes and nine ties, Couisnard lofted an alley-oop pass that Dante dunked for a 60-58 lead with 2:10 left in regulation. Oregon got a stop, and Couisnard ran into a wall at the basket on the ensuing possession, but Dante ate up the offensive rebound and slammed it home.
Scheierman kept the Bluejays alive by tying the game on his own. He got to the line and made two free throws with 27 seconds, and on their last possession of regulation, his midrange fadeaway with eight seconds left forced overtime.
The Ducks were down three with time winding down in the first extra session when Couisnard, with a hand in his face, drilled a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left. Creighton couldn’t break the tie before the buzzer.
Ashworth made his fifth 3-pointer to open the scoring in the second OT, and he fed the 7-foot Kalkbrenner for a triple soon after. Oregon went 0-for-7 from the floor in the period, including six misses by Couisnard, and the Bluejays finally pulled away.
Ashworth missed his first five 3-point attempts, but he made one with 2 seconds left in the first half to put Creighton ahead 36-34.
Creighton was up 52-49 midway through the second half when it hit a six-minute scoring drought, while Dante went to work in the post. Nearly two minutes after a putback dunk, he bullied his way around Kalkbrenner to score a layup for a 53-52 lead.
Couisnard followed Dante’s personal 6-0 run with a 3-pointer for a six-point Oregon lead with 5:20 left.
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media