CINCINNATI, Ohio -- No. 17 Xavier forced 21 turnovers and used a 19-4 run in the second half to earn an 80-73 win over visiting Creighton on Saturday.

The Musketeers improved to 13-3 (3-2 BIG EAST) with the victory while Creighton fell to 10-5 (2-2 BIG EAST) with the setback.

The game got off to a frenzied start, with Xavier scoring on its first three trips to bolt to a 7-0 lead after 81 seconds. Creighton answered with an 11-0 run of its own as all five starters had a basket in the burst.

Despite 13 turnovers in the first half, Creighton still took a 34-29 lead into the break, with Alex O'Connell (10) and Ryan Nembhard (8) leading the way. Ryan Hawkins added six points and had nine rebounds as the Bluejays owned the glass to the tune of 20-10 in the first half, and Nembhard had five assists and three Bluejay steals before half. Creighton shot 60 percent (15-25) in the opening stanza, with Arthur Kaluma tipping in one of the misses just before the halftime buzzer.

Xavier was led by eight points from Jerome Hunter while Zach Freemantle contributed seven points before the break. Preseason All-BIG EAST guard Paul Scruggs was scoreless at the break, though he did dish four of XU's six assists.

The Bluejays held onto their lead for the first nine minutes of the second half until a 7-0 Xavier run gave the Musketeers its first lead since 7-5 at 51-49 with 9:13 remaining. That spurt turned into the game-deciding 19-4 surge that included eight points by Colby Jones.

Creighton drew within four (77-73) on a Trey Alexander triple with 33 seconds left, but got no closer.

O'Connell had a career-high 22 points to lead CU, with Nembhard (18) and Hawkins (13) also scoring in double-figures.

Xavier was paced by 16 points from Jones, while Freemantle (11), Hunter (10), Scruggs (13) and Jack Nunge (12) also reached double-figures. The Musketeers scored 19 points off CU turnovers.

Creighton is scheduled to return home for a pair of games next week, starting with Wednesday's 6 p.m. game vs. St. John's.