Final Score: Creighton 62, Villanova 60
 
Overview
 
Creighton got a banked-in 3-pointer from the left corner from Steven Ashworth with 5.8 seconds left to lift it past Villanova 62-60 in a BIG EAST game played Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. A final possession for the Wildcats saw Eric Dixon with the basketball in his hands and a chance to tie or win. But the ball went off his foot out of bounds.
 
"I went to my right and dribbled it off my foot," Dixon said.
 
The Wildcats limited a potent Creighton attack to .231 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc and forced 18 turnovers, resulting in a 25-4 edge in points off of turnovers.
 
But Villanova connected on just .397 of its field goal attempts on the day, including 3-of-17 from long distance (.176).
 
"That's a tough one," said Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. "I was very proud of our guys, especially defensively. I thought we forced them into some tough spots. We played hard the entire game. It's a Big East game. You're going against high level players and a high-level program. Unfortunately, we ended up on the other side of where we wanted to be."
 
Poplar led Villanova with 24 points. Dixon added 17 points, including his 2,000^th career point in the first half.
 
Creighton Controlled Early Play
 
Winners in eight of their last nine outings, Creighton had the better of things in the early going. The Bluejays held the Wildcats to a single Wooga Poplar 3-pointer over the game's first 5:10 (1-8 overall shooting). Creighton was buoyed by a 9-3 advantage on the glass over the first six minutes.
 
Villanova held Creighton without a 3-point field goal – the Bluejays drained 14 in their win over the Wildcats in December – over the first 11 minutes but weren't able to gain enough traction offensively to close the gap. The Bluejays held a 20-13 lead with 7:57 left in the first period.
 
Both Poplar and Enoch Boakye were whistled for their second fouls in the half, limiting Villanova's options. Creighton point guard Steven Ashworth also went to the bench midway through the period with his second foul.
 
Villanova was 5-of-19 from the field over the first 12:03, with the nation's leading scorer, Eric Dixon, held to two points.
 
New Look
 
With Josiah Moseley not in uniform (illness), the Wildcats shifted their rotation a bit. The first reserve to enter the contest was redshirt freshman Kris Parker. Also making a first half appearance was another redshirt freshman, forward Jordann Dumont.
 
Dumont made his presence felt late in the half when he dropped in a 3-pointer from the right wing to cap a 12-2 run that gave Villanova its first lead of the day, 27-25. Part of that surge came from Dixon, who scored his 2,000^th point in the Blue and White on a 3-pointer. The Willow Grove, Pa., native is just the ninth player in program history to notch 2,000 or more points for the Wildcats.
 
"Without Josiah, we had to change some things up," said Neptune. "I thought Jordann gave us some good energy."
 
After a timeout, Ashworth returned to the court for the Bluejays and promptly drew a foul and then sank two free throws to tie the game at 27.
 
The game was deadlocked at 29 at halftime. Dixon paced Nova with 11 points while Ryan Kalkbrenner led Creighton with 10 points.
 
Poplar Power
 
After being limited by the first half fouls, Poplar's offense helped bring the crowd of 13.124 to its feet midway through the second half. A drive and score gave the Wildcats a 50-45 lead.
 
Creighton responded, however, reeling off a 7-0 burst capped by two Kalkbrenner free throws that put the Bluejays up 52-50 as the clock dipped below the four-minute mark. Free throws from Dixon and Poplar helped VU tie it at 54 but Ashworth drained a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key to put the Bluejays ahead 57-54.
 
A Poplar fast break basket cut the gap to 57-56 with 1:58 left. Jamiya Neal drained a 3-pointer off a rebound to give the Bluejays a 59-56. Four more points from Poplar – the last on a steal and slam with 8.8 seconds left, put Nova on top, 60-59, setting up Ashworth's heroics, after an initial miss on another 3-point attempt that went out of bounds off the Wildcats.
 
Up Next
 
A midweek visit to Chicago is up next for the Wildcats, who meet DePaul on Wednesday night at Wintrust Arena at 9 p.m. eastern time (CBS Sports Network and the Villanova Sports Network on IHeart).