OMAHA, Neb. -- Unable to maintain a lead throughout the second half, Providence pulled ahead when it counted most Wednesday as the Friars scored a 68-66 Big East Conference upset over No. 23 Creighton.

A 23-foot 3-pointer from the right wing by Kyron Cartwright with three seconds remaining was the shot that gave the Friars (17-11, 7-8 Big East) the winning points before an announced crowd of 17,382 at CenturyLink Center.

The loss was a blow to the Bluejays (22-7, 9-7 Big East) hope of securing a first-round bye in the March 8-11 Big East Conference tournament with three games remaining in the regular season.

Creighton didn't make a field goal in the final 3:32 of the game while Providence had just one field goal in the final 5:44, and that was Cartwright's game winner. The two teams combined to score just four points in the final 3:12.

"Thirty points on our home floor in the second half, we have to score more than that," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "They shot the daylights out of the basketball from the 3-point line."

Providence won the game at the free throw line, making 11 of 13 in the second half. The Friars also were 12-of-24 from 3-point range, one of their highest totals of the season from beyond the arc.

However they got it, Friars coach Ed Cooley said it was an important victory.

"I would say it's the biggest win of the season so far given the circumstances which we're in," Cooley said. "Battling in our league with Seton Hall, and Marquette playing as well as they are. We're right there in the middle of the pack. We're just trying to continue to improve, and hopefully at the end we're one of the schools invited to the big dance."

Providence opened the second half by scoring the first eight points to erase Creighton's seven-point halftime advantage and take a 37-36 lead, their first in nearly 12 minutes.

Over the next six minutes, the lead changed hands three times and was tied at three other junctures before the Bluejays created some space with five straight points for a 50-45 lead.

Creighton's lead got to seven before the Friars once again battled back, getting within 56-55 on a 3-pointer by Emmitt Holt.

It was Holt that the Jays had the most trouble stopping in the second half. After going scoreless in the first period, the 6-foot-7 junior from Webster, N.Y., finished with a team-high 18 points.

Points were tough to come by for both teams in the final five minutes. Creighton's lead didn't grow more than five points, but the Friars continued to battle and found ways to scratch out baskets until Cartwright's game winner.

Cartwright added 13 points and Rodney Bullock scored 10 to go with Holt's 18 points. Marcus Foster led three Creighton players in double figures with 18. Justin Patton added 17 points and Khyri Thomas finished with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The Bluejays got off to a rough start from the field while Providence was better early from 3-point range than inside the arc while building a 20-12 lead.

Providence was 6-of-8 from 3-point range in the first nine minutes; Cartwright led the way with two of those 3-pointers. Meanwhile, the Bluejays were struggling from all spots on the floor and were just 5-of-13 overall during that same stretch.

Fortunes of the two teams quickly changed when Creighton went on a 21-1 run over the next 7:24, turning an eight-point deficit into a 33-21 lead. The Bluejays were 9-of-14 from the field while the Friars missed 10 of their next 11 shots.

Isaiah Jackson ended the field-goal drought for Providence with 3:18 remaining before halftime on a layup that cut Creighton's lead to 33-23.

Zach Hanson had five of his seven first-half points during that stretch. Foster also accounted for five points during that run before Providence whittled its halftime deficit to 36-29.

NOTES: Creighton G Maurice Watson, Jr. was suspended from all the school's athletic-related activities, the school announced Wednesday in a press release. The senior from Philadelphia was not with the team on the bench during Sunday's victory over Georgetown. Watson hasn't played for the Jays since suffering a torn ACL during the Bluejays' Jan. 16 victory at Xavier. The announcement also said Watson won't participate in Senior Day festivities that are a part of Creighton's Feb. 28 game against St. John's. ... More NBA scouts were on hand for the Providence game after six were courtside for Sunday's victory over Georgetown. Teams represented Wednesday night were Utah, Indiana, Philadelphia and Miami.