OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Steven Ashworth scored 22 points and made a season-high six 3-pointers, including one in the last minute to help Creighton put away No. 11 Marquette in a 77-67 victory Saturday.

The Bluejays have won nine straight games since losing 79-71 at Marquette on Jan. 3. Creighton (18-6, 11-2) moved within one game of Big East leader St. John's.

Ryan Kalkbrenner had 19 points and blocked four shots, and Jamiya Neal scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half for the Bluejays.

Kam Jones scored 27 points and David Joplin added 22 for Marquette (18-6, 9-4), which lost its third straight.

Marquette wiped out an 11-point deficit in the middle of the second half and took its last lead at 61-60 on Joplin's layup with 6:34 left.

The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner hit a 3 to put the Bluejays up 67-63 with 3 1/2 minutes left.

Takeaways

Marquette: The Golden Eagles are on their longest losing streak since they dropped four in a row between Dec. 11, 2021, and Jan. 1, 2022.

Creighton: The Bluejays set a program record with their ninth straight Big East win. They matched their best 13-game start in Big East play since they joined the conference in 2013-14. They also have their longest win streak since they started 13-0 in 2016-17.

Key moment

Neal muscled in a shot from under the basket to give Creighton a 72-67 lead, then got the rebound on Stevie Mitchell's miss on the other end before Ashworth's 3 made it an eight-point game with 43 seconds left.

Key stat

Ashworth came into the game 3 of his last 26 from 3-point range and went 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. He was 1 of 13 on 3s in the Bluejays' loss to Marquette last month.

Up next

Marquette hosts DePaul on Tuesday.

Creighton hosts No. 19 UConn on Tuesday.

Roberts scores 20 points, Arceneaux has big 2nd half as No. 5 Houston holds off Colorado 69-59

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — J’Wan Roberts scored 20 points, Terrance Arceneaux added 13 of his 15 points in the second half and No. 5 Houston held off Colorado 69-59 on Saturday to hand the Buffaloes their 12th straight loss.

L.J. Cryer finished with 15 points for the Cougars (19-4, 11-1 Big 12). He appeared to be shaken up late in the game.

Houston raced out to a 9-0 lead and looked on the brink of making quick work of the Buffaloes (9-14, 0-12). But Colorado took its time on offense, played tight defense and steadily chipped away.

A key moment was around the 3-minute mark when Milos Uzan was called for a travel after the horn sounded for a shot-clock violation on Colorado. It was overturned on review. Roberts proceeded to hit two short-range shots to give Cougars some breathing room.

Julian Hammond III had 22 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead Colorado. The Buffaloes have dropped 12 in a row for the first time since 2008-09.

 

Takeaways

Houston: Kelvin Sampson picked up his first win over Colorado as the coach of Houston. He was 14-3 against the Buffaloes while at Oklahoma.

Colorado: Colorado dropped to 1-3 against teams ranked in the top-five this season. It’s the fourth time in the AP rankings era (1948-49) the Buffaloes have faced four top-five teams in the same season.

Key moment

Colorado was hanging close when Houston's Mylik Wilson had a pivotal steal and dunk with just over 5 minutes remaining.

Key stat

Houston held an edge in rebounds (38-26), points in the paint (42-20) and second-chance points (18-7).

Up next

Houston hosts Baylor on Monday, while Colorado travels to No. 16 Kansas on Tuesday.

Thomas' 18 help UNLV knock off Wyoming 68-57

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Dedan Thomas Jr.'s 18 points helped UNLV defeat Wyoming 68-57 on Saturday night.

Thomas shot 6 of 13 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line for the Rebels (12-12, 6-7 Mountain West Conference). Jailen Bedford shot 4 of 8 from the field, including 2 for 5 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 4 from the line to add 14 points. Jaden Henley shot 5 for 9, including 1 for 3 from beyond the arc to finish with 13 points. The Rebels broke a five-game slide.

Obi Agbim led the way for the Cowboys (11-13, 4-9) with 14 points. Wyoming also got 10 points and six assists from Cole Henry. Abou Magassa had nine points.

NEXT UP

UNLV next plays Tuesday against Air Force at home, and Wyoming will visit New Mexico on Wednesday.

Tony Osburn scores 27 to propel Omaha to 85-74 victory over North Dakota State

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tony Osburn scored a season-high 27 points to lead Omaha to an 85-74 victory over North Dakota State on Saturday.

Osburn also contributed six rebounds and seven assists for the Mavericks (16-10, 10-1 Summit League). Marquel Sutton totaled 23 points and eight rebounds. Ja'Sean Glover had 17 points and shot 7 for 10, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc. He did all the scoring for the Omaha bench.

Jacari White led the Bison (17-9, 6-5) with 25 points and five assists. Jacksen Moni pitched in with 17 points and seven rebounds. Masen Miller had 14 points.