EUGENE, Ore. – E.J. Singler hit a bank shot from just inside the lane with 2 seconds left to give Oregon a 71-69 win over Creighton on Friday night in the deciding game of the College Basketball Invitational.
Joevan Catron scored 29 points to lead the Ducks (21-18), earning tournament MVP honors, and Singler finished with 15.
Antoine Young had 21 points and seven assists for the Bluejays (23-16). Doug McDermott added 13 points, Gregory Echenique had 12 and Kenny Lawson Jr. 11.
This marked the third time in the four-year history of the CBI that the championship series went to a deciding third game. Tulsa (2008) and Oregon State (2009) previously won the CBI in three games. Last year, Virginia Commonwealth — which plays Butler in the Final Four on Saturday night — became the only team to claim the CBI crown in two games.
The Ducks lost the opener of this year's series 84-76 on Monday before forcing a third game with a 71-58 win over the Bluejays on Wednesday.
Catron was 11 for 17 from the field, his last basket coming with 58.9 seconds left to tie it at 67. Echenique put Creighton ahead with a two-handed slam with 45.6 seconds to go before Oregon's Garrett Sim answered with his only basket of the game, a layup with 33.3 seconds to play to tie it 69-all.
Following a timeout, Young was called for an over-and-back when he backpedaled across the center-court line, giving the ball to Oregon with 17.2 seconds remaining and setting up Singler's shot.
The win ended Oregon's longest season ever and gave the Ducks their first postseason basketball championship since the then-Tall Firs won the first NCAA tournament in 1939.
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