On Tuesday night, Georgetown and Creighton met at CHI Health Center Omaha in a Big East matchup between veteran head coaches Ed Cooley and Greg McDermott. Both teams entered the game coming off home losses, with Creighton falling to St. John’s and Georgetown losing to Seton Hall.
Creighton entered the contest with a 10-7 overall record and a 4-2 mark in Big East play. Georgetown was 9-7 overall and 1-4 in conference play, with its lone Big East win coming on the road against Marquette on Dec. 17.
Sophomore guard Austin Swartz opened the scoring less than 30 seconds into the game with a 3-pointer. Georgetown responded with a dunk from senior center Vince Iwuchukwu. The teams traded baskets early, and Georgetown held a 13-12 lead at the first official TV timeout with 15:48 remaining in the first half.
Georgetown extended its lead when sophomore center Julius Halaifonua converted an and-one opportunity to make it 15-12. Junior forward Jasen Green picked up his second foul on the play and was substituted with 15:08 remaining. Halaifonua made the free throw to give the Hoyas a 16-12 advantage.
Creighton answered with a 3-pointer from senior guard Nik Graves to cut the deficit to one. The game remained close, and the score was tied at 22 with about 10:30 remaining in the half. Georgetown then went on a 10-0 run to take a 32-22 lead with just over six minutes left.
Graves ended the run with a layup, but Halaifonua responded with a basket to restore a 10-point lead. The teams exchanged scores over the next several minutes, and Georgetown led 36-26 at the TV timeout with 2:48 remaining in the half.
Creighton closed the half on a 12-0 run, including two 3-pointers from Swartz, to take a 38-36 lead into halftime.
“Being able to go into halftime with a lead, it’s arguable that we didn’t play well enough to deserve that lead,” Swartz said. “But we were playing against a really good team. Late-game execution and end-of-half execution were important.”
Swartz scored the first basket of the second half with a 3-pointer, his fourth of the game, extending Creighton’s run to 15-0 and giving the Bluejays a 41-36 lead. Less than three minutes into the half, Green picked up his third foul and was again forced to the bench.
Georgetown ended the run with a layup by Iwuchukwu to make it 41-38 with 18:42 remaining. The game remained close for much of the second half, and the score was tied at 67 with under six minutes left.
Georgetown went on a 7-0 run to take a 74-67 lead with less than four minutes remaining. Creighton responded behind senior guard Josh Dix and Green. With one minute left, Georgetown led 76-73. With under 20 seconds remaining, Swartz hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 76.
At the end of regulation, Georgetown’s Langston Love appeared to score at the buzzer, but after video review, the basket was overturned, sending the game to overtime.
Swartz opened overtime with a basket and free throw for a three-point play. The score was tied at 83 with 52 seconds remaining when Swartz scored again to give Creighton an 85-83 lead. Georgetown turned the ball over on its next possession, and Dix was fouled with nine seconds remaining. Dix made one of two free throws to extend the lead to 86-83.
Georgetown’s KJ Lewis missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and Creighton secured the win.
“This is a really good win for us,” McDermott said. “It’s been a tough stretch with a lot of games in a short amount of time.”
Swartz finished with a career-high 33 points, shooting 12 of 16 from the field and 8 of 12 from 3-point range.
“My teammates were able to set me up for some easy shots,” Swartz said.
The win improved Creighton to 11-7 overall and 5-2 in Big East play. Georgetown fell to 9-8 overall and 1-5 in the conference. Creighton returns to action on the road against Providence, with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
