It was a low scoring affair in the first half while the Bulldogs and Bison got a feel for what each other were bringing to the table.
Roosevelt Jones dropped in nine of his 14 points in the first half, but also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists, all while shooting 6-12 from the floor.
With just a seven point lead at 21-14 at halftime, there was room for error on either side. It was just a matter of who was going to take the other out of their game plan.
Butler's 6'11 center Andrew Smith's job was to shut down Bucknell's 6'11 center Mike Muscala and he did a pretty outstanding job at doing so. Muscala was limited to just 9 points and 10 rebounds, but shot a dismal 4-of-17 from the field. Muscala was held to just two points in the first half.
Overall, it became the Rotnei Clarke and Andrew Smith show for the Butler Bulldogs in the second half. The two seniors combined for 25 of Butler's 47 second half total. It looked like the Bulldogs were going to pull away just minutes into the second stanza, as they snagged a 29-18 lead with 16:35 left. Bucknell wasn't in favor of this at all and back came the Bison.
The Patriot League champion Bucknell darted on an 8-0 run to trail Butler just 29-26 over 15 minutes on the clock, forcing the Bulldogs to burn a timeout.
The Bison weren't finished. Butler's need for a timeout sparked an 11-2 run to give Bucknell a 37-31, thanks to six of those by Joe Willman.
Butler rolled back and took the lead again with an 8-0 run of their own, fueled by a triple each by Clarke and Smith, along with two Kellen Dunham free throws for a 39-37 edge.
The lead would toggle back and forth a couple times. Ryan Frazier got fouled by Clarke, made the basket and hit the free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play and a 40-39 Bucknell advantage. Twelve seconds later on Butlers' ensuing possession, Andrew Smith laid up two points to get Butler back in front 41-40 and they would keep the lead for the duration.
Butler outscored the pesky Bison 27-16 over the final eight minutes and held on to post a 68-56 second round win in the NCAA Tournament in Lexington.
Joe Willman led all scorers with a game-high 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting. A stout Butler defense forced 9 Bucknell turnovers, while only committing 5. Mike Muscala wound up with 9 points and 10 rebounds and he was joined with 9 each by Bryson Johnson and Cameron Ayers.
Butler was paced as per usual by Rotnei Clarke with 17 on 5-of-14 field goals. Andrew Smith put up double-double numbers with 14 points and 16 boards, also converting 7 out of 8 from the foul line. Roosevelt Jones also scored 14 on 6-for-12 attempts. Alex Barlow chipped in with 10 points, including hitting all six of his free throws. Kameron Woods also grabbed 8 rebounds. Two big positives that carried the Bulldogs was an outstanding 25-28 (89%) from the free throw line and the fact that they only had 5 turnovers as a team.
Bucknell finishes their season at 28-6. Butler (27-8) continues its March quest on Saturday. The Bulldogs will battle the Marquette Golden Eagles (25-8) for the second time this season. We all remember the first matchup in the first game of the Maui Invitational. With time winding down, Butler's Rotnei Clarke drained a three as time expired, giving the Bulldogs a 72-71 win. It only means that Saturday's tilt will be nothing short of intense and exciting! Gotta love March Madness!
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