CHICAGO — Senior Marcus Foster nailed a pull-up 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to lift Creighton to a hard-fought 76-75 victory at DePaul Wednesday night.
It wasn't easy, nor was it pretty. But the Jays found a way to extended their winning streak over the Blue Demons (9-14, 2-9) to seven straight games. The other six were one-sided affairs, though. Wednesday's battle was not.
The Jays (18-6, 8-4) trailed for most of the game, but they used a surge late in the second half to build a 69-63 lead with five minutes remaining.
But junior Eli Cain tied the game with a 3-pointer at the 1:43 mark. Then senior Marin Maric, a big man who tortured CU all game, put the Blue Demons in front with a bucket in the post with 62 seconds left.
Then the drama began.
Senior Tyler Clement, who'd hit two big 3-pointers in the second half already, missed an open look from long-range. But senior Toby Hegner and junior Khyri Thomas battled for the rebound.
After a timeout, Foster dribbled in and pulled up for a jumper. He missed – but Hegner grabbed the board.
Then, maneuvering around a ball screen, Foster recognized he had his defender back-peddaling. He dribbled once, stopped and popped. He nailed the game-winning 3-pointer. Foster finished with 29 points.
CU definitely needed it.
Creighton, trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half and 36-31 at the break, did close the gap rather quickly out of the break. Foster and Ronnie Harrell both hit 3-pointers. After junior Khyri Thomas' driving bucket, Foster got free for a dunk — giving CU its first lead since the 14-minute mark of the first half at 41-40.
But it was back and forth from there.
Creighton got crucial minutes off the bench from Clement (six points) and senior Manny Suarez (three points, four rebounds and three assists). Thomas finished with 18 points.
>> Get the full story later on Omaha.com or in tomorrow's edition of The World-Herald.