San Diego State 86, No. 18 Creighton 80: Xavier Thames scored a career-high 26 points, including four 3-pointers, and the Aztecs withstood a late rally by the previously unbeaten Bluejays in the semifinals of the Wooden Legacy at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Gym.

Winston Shepard collected 16 points and 10 rebounds for San Diego State (4-1), which will face Marquette in Sunday’s championship game. Creighton rallied from a 19-point deficit in the second half and trailed 80-77 with 27 seconds left before San Diego State sealed the win at the foul line.

Doug McDermott scored 30 points to lead Creighton (5-1), which was held to a season-low point total after entering the game averaging 91.2. Ethan Wragge added 15 points and Austin Chatman had 11 for the Bluejays, who outscored the Aztecs 50-46 in the second half.

Creighton handed Arizona State its first loss Thursday with a dominant 28-point win, but the Bluejays were outrebounded by eight and committed 12 turnovers against the Aztecs. McDermott, who has scored at least 20 points in each of the Bluejays' first six games, made 11 of his 18 shots from the field and was 5-for-8 from 3-point range.

San Diego State, which was 8-for-16 from beyond the arc and made 26 of its 31 attempts free throws, led by 10 after closing the first half on a 38-16 run. The Aztecs used an 11-0 burst to open a 51-32 lead with 16 minutes remaining before Creighton rallied and pulled within 70-65 on Wragge's 3-pointer with just under four minutes to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: San Diego State won for just the second time in 17 all-time games against current members of the Big East. … Creighton fell to 40-3 in games when McDermott scores at least 15 points in any half. … The game was reminiscent of the teams’ last meeting in 2011, when San Diego State built a 17-point first-half lead before Creighton escaped with an 85-83 road win.