PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Devin Carter had 25 points and No. 24 Providence outlasted No. 18 Creighton 94-86 in double overtime Wednesday night.
Bryce Hopkins and Noah Locke each scored 20 for the Friars (19-7, 11-4 Big East), who ended an eight-game winning streak for the Bluejays that began with a Jan. 14 victory over Providence at home.
With the win, the Friars tied Creighton (17-9, 11-4) for third place in the Big East standings. Both teams are a half-game behind Xavier and a game back of first-place Marquette in a crowded race for the regular-season title.
Providence, the defending regular-season champion, improved to 14-0 at home this season and 9-1 in its past 10 games that went to overtime — including a pair of double-OT wins on its own court this season.
Ryan Nembhard led Creighton with 21 points, while Arthur Kaluma and Trey Alexander both finished with 17.
The game featured 20 lead changes and 17 ties. Providence finally made the decisive move by scoring the first five points of the second overtime and holding Creighton to just one basket as the Bluejays ran out of steam.
END OF REGULATION
The Friars tied it at 73 with a minute remaining in the second half, and both teams had a chance to win in regulation. Hopkins missed a step-back jumper on the baseline with 14 seconds left, and Creighton’s last bid nearly resulted in a turnover near midcourt.
END OF FIRST OT
Providence opened an 82-78 lead after Hopkins made a 3-pointer, but Creighton came back to tie it 84-all after Baylor Scheierman made two free throws with 48.4 seconds left.
A sloppy possession resulted in PC committing a shot clock violation with 9.5 seconds to go. Creighton turned to Nembhard on the ensuing possession but Carter came up huge once again when he blocked Nembhard's shot down low to extend the game another five minutes.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Creighton: The Bluejays are ranked for the second consecutive week after spending nine straight weeks outside the AP Top 25. Creighton was No. 9 in the preseason poll.
Providence: The Friars are ranked for the sixth week in a row. They moved into the AP Top 25 for the first time on Jan. 9.
UP NEXT
Creighton: Plays at St. John’s on Saturday night.
Providence: Will host Villanova on Saturday.
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