By Matthew VanTryon | Staff Reporter
Once again, the Butler Bulldogs found themselves in a position to come away with their first conference win, as they had a lead late in the game. And once again, the lead slipped through their fingers and the Bulldogs came up short. Georgetown (11-4, 3-1) defeated Butler (10-6, 0-4) 70-67 in overtime.
Kellen Dunham and Khyle Marshall carried the Bulldogs on offense in the first half, combining for 26 of Butler’s 29 points in the opening period.
Dunham led all scorers with 17 points at the break, and hit six-of-six from the free throw line.
The visiting Hoyas threatened to pull away early and often, but Butler found the net at key times in order to stay afloat.
Georgetown’s size proved problematic for the Bulldogs. The Hoyas out-rebounded Butler 22-13 in the half, including eight offensive boards.
Georgetown outscored Butler 24-8 in the paint in the opening period.
Butler shot 10-14 from the charity stripe in the first half.
Butler’s offense went cold to start the second half. Butler shot 32 percent in the final period, and Georgetown continued to dominate the glass.
Butler fell behind by as many as nine with just under seven minutes to go, and the Hoyas looked poised to cruise to a win on the road.
But Butler showed signs of life and wouldn’t go away, continuing to chip away at the deficit.
Butler used a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to three with over five minutes to play.
Andrew Chrabascz hit two free throws with three minutes to go to take the lead.
The game continued to go back and forth, but Alex Barlow sunk two free throws to give the Bulldogs a three-point lead with 25 seconds to play.
Butler just needed just one more stop, and the win was theirs.
Markel Starks nailed a three-pointer with 13 seconds to play, three of his 15 points in the game.
Butler had a chance to win the game in regulation, but a Kameron Woods jumper didn’t fall as time expired.
Butler was headed to overtime for the third time in four Big East games.
Butler trailed by two with 30 seconds to play in the overtime period, and Chrabscz was fouled going for a layup. It didn’t fall, and he missed one of the free throws.
Butler was forced to foul. Georgetown hit both free throws, and Butler faced a four-point deficit with 11 seconds to play.
Chrabascz hit a quick layup and the deficit was back to two. Starks was fouled and hit one free throw.
Butler was out of timeouts and trailed by three with three seconds to play. A long pass was fired down court. Woods caught the ball and got it to Dunham, who heaved a desperation three that fell short.
After turning the ball over only four times in regulation, Butler turned the ball over three times in the overtime period.
Butler was outscored 44-26 in the paint.
Chrabascz provided key minutes off the bench for Butler, scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Chrabascz was 4-of-5 from the field. He was 6-of-8 from the free throw line—all which came in the last three minutes of regulation and overtime.
Despite shooting 22-of-27 from the charity stripe in regulation, Butler shot 3-of-6 from the line in the extra period.
The Bulldogs struggled mightily from behind the arc, shooting 2-of-21. Georgetown didn’t fare much better, shooting 4-for-20.
Georgetown came into the game leading the Big East in three-point shooting.
Butler shot 33 percent from the floor in the contest. Georgetown shot 45 percent.
Butler has lost four straight for the first time since the 2004-2005 season.
Sophomore Kellen Dunham did not see the bench in the entire contest, and led all scorers with 21 points. Senior Khyle Marshall added 18 points, and freshman Andrew Chrabascz added a career-high 14 points off the bench.
After shooting 5-of-10 from the floor in the first half, Dunham shot just 1-for-9 in the second half and overtime.
Georgetown’s D’Vaunt Smith-Riviera scored 18 points in the win. He was one of three players in double-figure scoring for the visitors.
Junior Alex Barlow, who scored eight points in the contest, said the team gave 100 percent effort in the loss. Georgetown just made more plays than Butler did.
“Thursday night, we were probably more frustrated in the effort we gave. Today, we had the effort and didn’t make enough plays,” said Barlow.
Miller said the losses wear on the team, and him as a coach.
“As a competitor, as a coach, losses wear on you. It eats at you. Sick feeling in your stomach after every loss. It’s tough,” said Miller.
However, Miller said he was proud of his team’s effort down the stretch.
“We continued to fight. We battled. We battled back from behind. Our players put us in a position to win the game,” said Miller.
The Big East grind continues Tuesday, as Butler travels to face conference-leading Creighton. The game tips off at 9 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports 1.
