Thursday, March 13
New York, N.Y.
6 p.m.
DePaul University
14-19,4-16Big East
81
vs
85
Creighton
23-9,15-5Big East
1
2
OT 1
OT 2
F
DePaul
36
26
11
8
81
Creighton
21
41
11
12
85
Blue Demons Drop Double Overtime Heartbreaker
3/13/2025 11:08:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
DePaul falls to Creighton in BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals
NEW YORK – It was a heartbreaking loss for the DePaul men's basketball team Thursday evening in the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals as the Blue Demons fell in double overtime, 85-81, to second-seeded Creighton.
Seven different Blue Demons contributed to the scoring effort, including a career-high performance from Layden Blocker who registered 25 points. Blocker's 25 points are the third most by a DePaul player in the BIG EAST Tournament, and the most since Cleveland Melvin on March 12, 2013. Blocker was 5-of-7 from three while also adding five rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Isaiah Rivera had an all-around game for the Blue Demons with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. The graduate student played all 50 minutes, marking the most ever played by a Blue Demon in the BIG EAST Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
DePaul (14-19)'s defense came out strong to open the game and force Creighton to go 1-of-11 from the floor in the first 10 minutes of the game. The defensive effort and solid scoring opportunities gave DePaul a 22-11 lead with seven minutes left to play in the half. The Blue Demons ended the half making their last five field goal attempts for a 36-21 advantage.
Creighton (23-9) opened the second half shooting above 50 percent to cut DePaul's lead to nine, 42-33. DePaul held onto a nine-point advantage until a three-pointer pulled Creighton within six, 46-40. Blocker immediately answered with his own pair of three-pointers, before a 9-0 Creighton run cut the lead to three, 54-51. Despite a pair of three-pointers from Rivera and Troy D'Amico, Creighton tied the game with 20 seconds remaining on a Steven Ashworth three-pointer.
After Creighton jumped ahead early in the overtime period to an eight-point lead, Blocker scored all of DePaul's 11 points in the first five minutes to force the second overtime. After the Blue Demons grabbed a 76-75 lead off a three-pointer from Rivera, Creighton would take the lead for good on a pair of baskets from Ryan Kalkbrenner.
OF NOTE
Seven different Blue Demons contributed to the scoring effort, including a career-high performance from Layden Blocker who registered 25 points. Blocker's 25 points are the third most by a DePaul player in the BIG EAST Tournament, and the most since Cleveland Melvin on March 12, 2013. Blocker was 5-of-7 from three while also adding five rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Isaiah Rivera had an all-around game for the Blue Demons with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. The graduate student played all 50 minutes, marking the most ever played by a Blue Demon in the BIG EAST Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
DePaul (14-19)'s defense came out strong to open the game and force Creighton to go 1-of-11 from the floor in the first 10 minutes of the game. The defensive effort and solid scoring opportunities gave DePaul a 22-11 lead with seven minutes left to play in the half. The Blue Demons ended the half making their last five field goal attempts for a 36-21 advantage.
Creighton (23-9) opened the second half shooting above 50 percent to cut DePaul's lead to nine, 42-33. DePaul held onto a nine-point advantage until a three-pointer pulled Creighton within six, 46-40. Blocker immediately answered with his own pair of three-pointers, before a 9-0 Creighton run cut the lead to three, 54-51. Despite a pair of three-pointers from Rivera and Troy D'Amico, Creighton tied the game with 20 seconds remaining on a Steven Ashworth three-pointer.
After Creighton jumped ahead early in the overtime period to an eight-point lead, Blocker scored all of DePaul's 11 points in the first five minutes to force the second overtime. After the Blue Demons grabbed a 76-75 lead off a three-pointer from Rivera, Creighton would take the lead for good on a pair of baskets from Ryan Kalkbrenner.
OF NOTE
- DePaul set a program BIG EAST Tournament record with 11 steals, led by Gunn's six which was also an individual BIG EAST Tournament record.
- Thursday was DePaul's first overtime game in the BIG EAST Tournament.
- It was the Blue Demons 19th double overtime game in program history, moving to 8-11 in those games.
Team Stats
DePaul
CU
FG%
.457
.431
3FG%
.400
.294
FT%
.500
.722
RB
40
44
TO
15
13
STL
11
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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