NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Creighton men's basketball team was eliminated from the BIG EAST Tournament with a 63-61 quarterfinal loss to Xavier on Thursday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Creighton had its league-high five-game win streak snapped, falling to 18-14, while Xavier improved to 18-14 with its sixth win in the last seven games.
Sophomores Ty-Shon Alexander and Mitch Ballock helped stake Creighton to an early 22-13 lead, combining for 20 of CU's first 22 points in the opening 10 minutes. Xavier responded with 11 of the next 13 points, including eight points from Zach Hankins, to knot the score at 24-all, and the Musketeers took their first lead at 28-26 on a lay-up by Naji Marshall.