Jahmyl Telfort scored nine of his 23 points in the final 6:12 to help Butler hold on to a 71-69 victory over Northwestern in an Arizona Tip-Off semifinal Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.
After Boden Kapke sank a free throw with 5.8 seconds left to give Butler the two-point edge, Brooks Barnhizer drove the length of the court and his game-tying layup rolled off the iron — and Nick Martinelli’s tip a split-second before the horn curled around the inside of the rim before coming out.
Fifth-year center Andre Screen came off the bench to contribute a season-high 15 points for Butler (5-1), which advanced to Friday’s championship game against the winner of No. 25 Mississippi State and UNLV. Finley Bizjack added 12 points. Leading scorer Pierre Brooks II finished 1 of 7 from the field for two points — 14 points below his average.
Barnhizer paced Northwestern (5-2) with 24 points and seven rebounds while fifth-year center Matthew Nicholson finished with a season-high 14 points. Martinelli, who entered the day as the nation’s No. 5 scorer with 23.8 points per game while shooting 60.2 percent from the field, missed his first six shots and finished with seven points on 3-of-15 shooting.
Both teams needed time to heat up. Butler needed six possessions and four minutes to register its first points while Northwestern, after getting a Barnhizer fadeaway on the game’s first possession, needed nearly five minutes to get its second basket.
The Bulldogs found their groove first. They put together an 11-0 run that began with Patrick McCaffery’s jumper at the 14:28 mark and concluded with Screen’s power move for a layup to take a 15-6 lead with 11:17 to go.
While the Wildcats were busy missing 10 out of 11 field-goal tries, Butler pushed its margin to 24-10 with 6:43 left as Screen threw down a putback dunk and a layup and Telfort swished a 3.
K.J. Windham came off the bench to kickstart a Northwestern rally with a 3-pointer and a transition layup. Barnhizer finished the half with a 3-pointer and two free throws to cap a 13-2 run and pull the Wildcats within 31-28 at the break.
In the second half, Northwestern failed to capitalize on its first seven possessions to tie or take the lead. Then Jalen Leach cashed a pullup just beyond the free-throw line with 6:27 left to give the Wildcats a 53-52 edge — their first lead since 6-4.
That sparked Butler’s game-defining run. Telfort hit two free throws, Bizjack made a 3-pointer and Telfort sank a 3 from the wing to push the Bulldogs’ margin to 60-55 with 3:45 to play.
–Field Level Media
The Boston Celtics will be looking to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time this season when they face the visiting Detroit Pistons on Thursday. The Celtics haven’t played…
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Max Strus is expected to make his season debut on Friday after battling an ankle injury, RG first reported Tuesday. The Cavaliers, 21-4 without Strus, host the…
President Charlie Baker set a timeline of early April to determine whether the NCAA Tournament would expand in 2026. Speaking at a sports business conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday,…
Cavaliers F Max Strus (ankle) to make season debut Friday
Bigger Dance? NCAA Tournament expansion gaining support
Rockets owner up for Trump appointment; eyeing NFL’s Saints
Norchad Omier, Baylor too strong for Norfolk State