INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Darrun Hilliard rallied No. 6 Villanova in the second half and hit a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left Saturday to give the Wildcats a 68-65 victory over No. 18 Butler.
The Bulldogs could have forced overtime, but Kelan Martin’s 3 from the left wing came up short at the buzzer.
Hilliard finished with a career-high 31 points, 20 in the second half when he knocked down five 3-pointers. JayVaughn Pinkston added 12 as Villanova (23-2, 10-2 Big East) won its sixth in a row.
Butler (18-7, 8-4) sure made things difficult, though. Kellen Dunham and Alex Barlow each had 19 points, and Barlow’s 3 with 2:41 to go gave the Bulldogs a 63-62 lead.
Hilliard answered with three free throws with 1:24 left to make it 65-63 and, after Roosevelt Jones tied the score on an acrobatic layup with 17.3 seconds left, Hilliard made the last of his 3s.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.