C.J. Jackson hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:10 remaining as Ohio State watched a pair of 12-point leads vanish before rallying for a 69-60 victory over host Creighton on Thursday night in Omaha, Neb., in the Gavitt Tipoff Games between Big Ten and Big East schools.
Jackson gave the Buckeyes (3-0) a 62-60 lead when he hit a 3-pointer from the right corner as Creighton was late to close out. He was 0-for-7 from the floor before Keyshawn Woods drove on Ty-Shon Alexander and connected with Jackson.
Jackson's 3-pointer was part of a game-ending 13-0 run that spanned the final 2:42. Entering as Ohio State's leading scorer at 19 points per game, Jackson finished with six points on 2-for-9 shooting.
Woods led the Buckeyes with 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting as Ohio State shot 47.3 percent overall. Duane Washington Jr. contributed 12 points for the Buckeyes, who beat Creighton for the sixth time in nine all-time meetings.
Alexander scored 16 points for Creighton, which was unable to pull off the 21st comeback from a double-digit deficit under coach Greg McDermott. Davion Mintz added 12 points for the Bluejays (2-1), who shot 44.2 percent overall and committed 13 turnovers.
Ohio State took a 46-34 lead on Andre Wesson's 3-pointer with 14:16 remaining but quickly lost the double-digit lead. Creighton countered with a 14-2 run and forged a 48-48 deadlock on a corner 3-pointer by Alexander with 9:47 left.
Creighton took a 60-56 on a 3-pointer by Mitch Ballock with about three minutes remaining but a 3-pointer by Washington started Ohio State's run as the Bluejays missed their last five shots.
Ohio State started by missing six of its first seven shots but took its first lead at 16-14 on a 3-pointer by Washington with 9:18 left. The Buckeyes took their first double-digit at 34-23 on another 3-pointer by Washington eight minutes later and held a 37-25 lead by halftime.
--Field Level Media
Ohio St. | Creighton | |
Keyshawn Woods 19 | Scoring | Ty-Shon Alexander 16 |
C.J. Jackson 4 | Assists | Ty-Shon Alexander 3 |
Kyle Young 6 | Rebounds | Martin Krampelj 7 |
Andre Wesson 2 | Free Throws Made | Jacob Epperson 2 |
Luther Muhammad 2 | Steals | Mitch Ballock 1 |
C.J. Jackson 1 | Blocks | Martin Krampelj 2 |