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OMAHA, Neb. -- A late surge by Creighton helped lift it to an 89-83 overtime victory over No. 3 Villanova Saturday afternoon at CenturyLink Center. The Wildcats had held a 68-60 lead with 4:30 left but were unable to hold off the late charge from the Bluejays (20-9 overall, 9-7 BIG EAST).

National Player of the Year candidate Jalen Brunson led Villanova (25-4 overall, 12-4 BIG EAST) with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists. Marcus Foster (28 points) and Khyri Thomas (24) combined for 52 points for Creighton, which played without starter Ronnie Harrell Jr. (foot).

"That was another great Big East basketball game in an outstanding college basketball atmosphere," stated VU head coach Jay Wright of a game that was played before 18,321 spectators. "This place is awesome. They have great fans.

"It was a tremendous effort by Creighton. They just outplayed us. They were a little tougher defensively, a little more connected offensively."

Two squads that combined for 176 points earlier in the month at the Wells Fargo Center wasted little time in generating offense in this one. Both the Bluejays and Wildcats sank 4-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first four minutes of action, which resulted in a tied game at 15 at the game's first official timeout.

"Both teams were hot early but I thought we both got a little bit more locked in as the half went on," noted Wright.

Midway through the period the Wildcats got five consecutive points from National Player of the Year candidate Jalen Brunson to edge out to a 22-20 lead. But a Thomas 3-pointer gave Creighton back the lead a short while later, at 25-24.

An 8-0 run from Creighton allowed it to build a 33-29 edge but the Wildcats -- led by Brunson -- responded immediately with a 9-0 run capped by a Phil Booth 3-pointer off an assist from Brunson to regain the lead. The half ended with Villanova in front 40-38 after a Marcus Foster 3-pointer.

Eight points from Brunson topped a balanced Wildcats' attack in the first half while Spellman contributed seven points and seven rebounds. Thomas (15 points) and Foster (14 points) combined for 29 of 38 Creighton points in the period.

Four minutes into the second half, the game was tied again, this time at 45, thanks to a pair of free throws by Davion Mintz. A 3-pointer by Mikal Bridges that he was fouled on resulted in a 49-45 lead. Yet Creighton reeled off the next seven points to move out to a 56-50 lead with 11:00 to play in the period. That burst coincided with a field goal drought of more than five minutes.

Spellman, though, helped lead the Wildcats on their own 12-4 spurt to regain the lead at 62-60. The Wildcats pushed the advantage to 68-60 after a pair of Brunson free throws before the Bluejays reeled off a 9-0 spurt to regain the lead 92 seconds to play in the second half.

"The credit goes to Creighton," Wright stated. "An eight point lead usually means you are in pretty good shape at that point. But they made some big shots and were just a little more sharp than we were in our execution."

An old-school three point play by Brunson pushed VU in front 71-69 with 52 seconds left before Creighton got a corner 3-pointer from Mitch Ballock to take a 72-71 lead with 29 seconds remaining. The Wildcats were stopped on the ensuing defensive possession but came up with a stop of their own on which DiVincenzo was fouled. He sank 1-of-2 at the line with 9.3 seconds on the clock. The game was tied at 72.

Marcus Foster's bid for a game-winner was stopped in a terrific sequence and a desperation heave by Gillespie at the buzzer missed. Villanova headed into its first overtime session of the 2017-18 season.

Creighton, however, scored on its first three trips down the floor in the extra period and built an 80-76 lead with 1:45 to play in overtime. After a Villanova turnover, Foster was fouled and sank a free throw with 1:22 on the clock to move the deficit to 81-76.

The final was 89-83.

Villanova visits Seton Hall on Wednesday night (8:30 p.m./FS1 and 610 Sports Radio) and then returns home to host Georgetown at 5 p.m. on March 3 (Fox Sports and 610 Sports Radio).

The 2017-18 Villanova Men's Basketball season is presented by KeyBank.