BOX SCORE
GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – Sophomore guard Ty-Shon Alexander scored a career-high 36 points as Creighton handed No. 16 ranked Clemson its first loss of the season with an 87-82 win to claim the Cayman Islands Classic championship Wednesday night.
Alexander, who was named the outstanding player in the tournament, had 19 points in the second half as Creighton (5-1) fought off a late rally by Clemson.
The Tigers, who fell to 5-1, trailed by as many as 13 points but trimmed the deficit to 83-80 following a jumper by Shelton Mitchell with 22 seconds remaining. Sophomore guard Devin Mintz hit two free throws with :20 left pushing the Creighton lead to 85-80.
Clemson’s Marcquise Reed missed a three-point shot and Mintz extended Creighton’s lead to 87-80 with a dunk with :07 remaining
Alexander drilled seven three-point baskets, while making all 11 of his free throw attempts.
Reed finished with a season-high 27 points, while guard Shelton Mitchell added 13 points for Clemson, which shot 53.4 percent from the floor (31-58).
Creighton fired at a 55.8 percent clip (29-52) and was more successful beyond the three-point arch hitting 10 treys compared to just five three-point baskets from Clemson.
Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first half, but Creighton hit six of 14 shots beyond the three-point arc while Clemson was just one of eight from three-point range, resulting in the Bluejays owning a 45-35 halftime lead.
After Clemson pulled within 26-24 following a layup by David Skara, Alexander scored six straight points for Creighton coming on three free throws after being fouled on a three-point shot attempt along with a three-point basket to push the lead to 32-24 with 8:08 left
Six minutes later another three-point basket by Alexander propelled Creighton to its biggest lead at 43-31 with 1:53 left in the half.
Clemson cut into Creighton’s lead down to four points following a layup by Mitchell that made it 55-51 with 11:56 remaining. But the Bluejays responded with a 6-0 splurge including back-to-back baskets by sophomore reserve center Jacob Epperson. The 6-foot 11-inch native of Melbourne, Australia, had a dunk off an alley-oop pass and a driving floater in the paint.
Reed and Mitchell also were selected to the 10-man all-tournament team along with Damien Jefferson from Creighton.
Clemson will host Nebraska Monday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Creighton will open a two-game homestand starting Nov. 28 against Montana followed by a stern test against No. 3 ranked Gonzaga Dec. 1.