No. 5 Xavier slides past Creighton 72-71

OMAHA, Neb. - Quentin Goodin made two free throws with three-tenths of a second left, allowing fifth-ranked Xavier to hold off Creighton 72-71 on Saturday.
 
Goodin got fouled by Ronnie Harrell Jr. after Harrell had made three straight free throws to give the Bluejays a one-point lead with 4.6 seconds left. Goodin took an inbound pass from Naji Marshall and drove the length of the court to the basket, with Harrell making contact in the lane and sending him to the line.
 
Harrell's baseball pass sailed out of bounds on the other end, and the Big East-leading Musketeers inbounded the ball one more time to wrap up their eighth win in a row.
 
Goodin scored a career-high 17 points, J.P. Macura added 15 and Karem Kanter had 14 for Xavier (23-3, 11-2).
 
Marcus Foster had 20 of his 29 points in the second half for the Bluejays (18-7, 8-5), and he matched his career-high with eight rebounds. Khyri Thomas added 14 points for Creighton.
 
Xavier won its fourth road game in a row despite season scoring leader Trevon Bluiett being held to six points and forward Tyrique Jones missing his second straight game with a shoulder injury.
 
The Musketeers led 70-68 with 21.7 seconds left when Macura putback Sean O'Mara's missed layin.
 
Foster missed a short shot on the other end, got his own rebound and passed to Harrell in front of the Creighton bench. Bluiett was closing out strong but bumped Harrell as Harrell launched a 3-pointer.
 
Harrell made all three of his free throws for a one-point lead before Goodin got to the line to win the game.
 
BIG PICTURE
 
Xavier: The Musketeers come out of the game with a half-game lead over Villanova in the Big East. They swept the season series against Creighton. They beat the Bluejays 92-70 in Cincinnati on Jan. 13.
 
Creighton: The Bluejays lost for the first time in 14 home games this season and were denied a fourth win this season against a top-25 team.
 
UP NEXT
 
Xavier hosts Seton Hall on Wednesday. The Musketeers beat the Pirates 73-64 on the road last month.
 
Creighton is filling its bye week with a nonconference home game Tuesday against Division II Bemidji State.