Creighton Bluejays vs Clemson Tigers Match Player Stats On Nov 21, 2018

Sophomore guard Ty-Shon Alexander scored a career-high 36 points as Creighton upended No. 16 Clemson 87-82 Wednesday night in the championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic at George Town.

Clemson, which was bidding for its first 6-0 start since 2008-09, fell to 5-1. The Bluejays improved to 5-1 after earning three wins in the tournament.

Alexander, who was recruited heavily out of high school by Clemson and listed the Tigers as one of his four finalists, made 9 of 16 shots from the floor, including 7 of 12 from 3-point range. He also made all 11 of his free throws.

Alexander torched the Tigers from the outset, scoring 19 points in the first half as Creighton built a 45-35 lead behind 58.6 percent shooting from the floor.

The Bluejays' hot touch continued in the second half and Creighton led by as many as 12 points, 71-59, with 5:41 left.

Clemson battled back behind graduate guard Marcquise Reed and twice pulled within five points in the final three minutes, but the Bluejays made enough free throws down the stretch to keep the Tigers at bay.

Reed, who scored 13 of Clemson's final 15 points, paced Clemson with 27 points, one shy of his career high. Guard Shelton Mitchell added 13 points, and forwards Elijah Thomas and Aamir Simms had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Graduate forward David Skara scored eight points and had a career-high 11 rebounds for the Tigers.

Clemson, which led only twice in the first six minutes, outrebounded Creighton 31-27 but committed a season-high 19 turnovers. The Bluejays gave the ball away 16 times.

Wednesday's win marked the third time a Creighton player established a career scoring high in the past two games. Sophomore guard Damien Jefferson had a career-best 20 points and fellow sophomore guard Mitch Ballock poured in a career-high 23 points in a win against Georgia State on Tuesday.

Creighton, a young team that was tabbed for a ninth-place finish out of 10 teams in the Big East's preseason poll, is coming off a 21-12 season and is bidding for its 19th NCAA Tournament bid in the past 21 years.

Clemson, 25-10 last season and a Sweet 16 participant, was picked for a sixth-place finish in the ACC preseason poll.

--Field Level Media