• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

New York City, N.Y- The Butler Bulldogs edged out a gutsy win over the Seton Hall Pirates 75-74 to advance to the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. The game was decided in the final seconds when Tyler Wideman had a tip in to give Butler a 1 point lead with 3 seconds left. A last second heave from Myles Powell of Seton Hall missed and secured the comeback for Butler. They were led by Kamar Baldwin who finished with a game high 32 points, while Khadeen Carrington had 16, 7 and 6 for Seton Hall.

While a disappointing finish for the Pirates, Coach Kevin Williard was optimistic about the extra rest his team will have going into the NCAA Tournament. “I think having three of four more days off, rest, I feel good about both of them (Desi and Ish) going into Thursday or Friday.”

Coach Willard/ Karrington Postgame
Coach Willard/ Karrington Postgame

Seton Hall controlled the pace for much of the game, leading by 14 in the first half and 7 with 6 minutes to go in the game. It looked like they would pull away, but a late surge by Butler would change that. The Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run to cut it down to one. When asked about it in the Post-game, Baldwin spoke about the mentality they had in the final stretch.

“Just continuing to play our style. Our motto is gritty, not pretty. We battled; we knew it was going to be a battle the whole game. In the huddle,we talked amongst each others, the players, we need to get stops and get it back, and thats what we did to trim the lead down.”

For Butler, this was their first win ever in the Big East Tournament. With plenty of talk on their place in the NCAA Tournament, Coach. Jordan had a definitive statement; “I think there’s one way to definitely secure an NCAA Tournament spot. We’re playing in the semifinals tomorrow.”

The Butler Bulldogs face off against the Villanova Wildcats in the semifinals next.

 

By Vernon McKenzie

Graduate of New Institute Of Technology with a BA in Communications with a focus on Television Radio. Owner and Executive Producer of PureSportsNY

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