Despite getting outhustled and outrebounded and missing 5 of 6 free throws in the last 3 minutes, Creighton held on to win 72-71 on Sunday.
Doug McDermott had 29 points to become one of the top-10 scorers in college basketball history, and Grant Gibbs added a season-high 16 points as the Bluejays (23-4, 13-2) took a half-game lead over Villanova in the Big East standings. The Bluejays have won eight of their last nine.
McDermott made a free throw late in the second half to pass Alfredrick Hughes for 10th on NCAA all-time scoring chart. McDermott now has 2,917 points, and he's on track to pass Danny Manning and Oscar Robertson by the end of the regular season.
Fuquan Edwin had 21 points to lead the Pirates (14-13, 5-9), who were playing without suspended point guard Sterling Gibbs and have lost four of five.