Creighton escapes with 2OT victory over DePaul

NEW YORK — Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 32 points, including the go-ahead hook shot with 2:12 remaining in the second overtime as Creighton survived a major scare from DePaul to earn a wild 85-81 victory on Thursday in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.Creighton rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final 2:12 of regulation and blew an eight-point lead in the final 93 seconds of the first overtime.Fedor Zugic added 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in Creighton’s comeback late in regulation. Steven Ashworth was held to 10 on 3-of-16 shooting but hit the tying trey with 21 seconds left in regulation for the second-seeded Bluejays (23-9).Layden Blocker scored 25 for DePaul (14-19), including the Blue Demons’ final nine points of the first overtime. Isaiah Rivera added 17 and CJ Gunn chipped in 14 points and six steals for the 10th-seeded Blue Demons, who were attempting to reach the semifinals for the first time since joining the Big East.DePaul held a 76-75 lead when Rivera hit a step-back 3-pointer over Zugic with 3:37 remaining in the second extra session. After the Blue Demons’ David Thomas missed a 3-point attempt with 2:26 left, Kalkbrenner put Creighton ahead for good with a hook shot over NJ Benson.Kalkbrenner hit a layup around a double team with 91 seconds left, and teammate Jamiya Neal dunked 20 seconds later for a 81-76 edge. The Blue Demons were within 83-81 after a trey by Blocker with 12 seconds to go, and Creighton finally secured matters when Ty Davis sank two free throws with nine seconds remaining.

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