BUTLER 71, NOTRE DAME 69

Official Basketball Box Score Butler vs Notre Dame 11-13-06 6:02 p.m. ET at Conseco Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, Ind. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Butler 2-0 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 01 Betko, Julian....... * 3-3 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 4 6 0 2 1 0 22 04 GRAVES, A.J......... * 10-20 8-15 0-0 0 2 2 0 28 3 2 0 2 39 10 Green, Mike......... * 7-13 1-4 4-5 2 4 6 2 19 12 3 0 1 37 24 Ligon, Brian........ * 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 2 2 0 2 0 0 14 33 Crone, Brandon...... * 2-7 1-4 0-0 1 4 5 3 5 1 0 1 1 33 21 Veasley, Willie..... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 23 Nellems, Marcus..... 2-5 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 1 5 1 0 0 0 19 32 Streicher, Drew..... 2-2 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 3 4 1 0 1 3 26 34 Campbell, Pete...... 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 TEAM................ 1 1 2 Totals.............. 28-57 11-28 4-5 7 19 26 15 71 18 9 3 7 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-31 41.9% 2nd Half: 15-26 57.7% Game: 49.1% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-14 35.7% 2nd Half: 6-14 42.9% Game: 39.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 4-5 80.0% Game: 80.0% 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Notre Dame 1-1 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 15 FALLS, Colin........ * 5-11 4-7 3-5 0 3 3 0 17 1 2 0 1 39 23 McALARNEY, Kyle..... * 3-7 2-3 0-0 0 1 1 2 8 4 2 0 2 37 31 KURZ, Rob........... * 3-5 0-0 1-1 2 4 6 3 7 6 1 1 0 34 40 ZELLER, Luke........ * 1-2 1-1 2-2 0 3 3 1 5 2 3 0 0 18 43 CARTER, Russell..... * 6-13 3-6 0-1 0 5 5 2 15 1 3 0 1 31 02 JACKSON, Tory....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 33 HILLESLAND, Zach.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 9 42 AYERS, Ryan......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 44 HARANGODY, Luke..... 7-13 0-0 3-3 6 4 10 2 17 0 0 1 0 20 TEAM................ 2 2 4 Totals.............. 25-52 10-17 9-12 10 23 33 11 69 14 14 2 4 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-28 39.3% 2nd Half: 14-24 58.3% Game: 48.1% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 6-8 75.0% Game: 58.8% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 1-1 100 % 2nd Half: 8-11 72.7% Game: 75.0% 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Ted Hillary, John Hampton and Mike Roberts Technical fouls: Butler-None. Notre Dame-None. Attendance: Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Butler........................ 31 40 - 71 Notre Dame.................... 27 42 - 69 Round 1 of the 2006 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off

DAVE'S POSTGAME ANALYSIS
The Butler Bulldogs extended their winning streak over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to six games with a thrilling 71-69 victory in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-off at Conseco Fieldhouse. The two squads exchanged scoring runs throughout the first half. Notre Dame broke a 20-20 tie with a 7-0 run, but the Bulldogs answered by scoring the final 11 points of the half to take a 31-27 halftime lead. The Irish scored the first 10 points of the second half, forcing the Bulldogs to play catch-up for most of the period. Butler scratched and clawed their way back, but Notre Dame seemed to always have an answer to keep the Dawgs at arm's length. The Bulldogs finally regained the lead on a Mike Green free throw to make it 68-67 with about 2:27 remaining. ND's Luke Harangody put the Irish back on top with a basket of his own, but Green found A. J. Graves in front of the Butler bench for the go-ahead three-pointer, putting the Bulldogs in front 71-69. Following an empty possession by each squad, ND had one final shot, but Julian Betko tipped Russell Carter's three-point attempt ahead of the final buzzer, and Green's rebound sealed the victory.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Graves and Green. The junior backcourt tandem was simply phenomenal. Graves led all scorers with 28 points, including 8-of-15 from three-point range. And more often than not, the person setting up Graves was Green, who dished out 12 assists to go with 19 points and six rebounds.
Betko finished with six points. Brandon Crone had five points and five rebounds, while Marcus Nellems added five points of his own. Drew Streicher came off the bench for four points and five rebounds. Brian Ligon added two points, and Willie Veasley, who suffered a broken bone in his non-shooting hand in the opener at Tulane, also had two points. ND was led by Harangody and Colin Falls with 17 points each.
Wow...what a tremendous game. One team would make a run, then the other would answer. A back-and-forth contest with plenty of twists and turns that wasn't decided until the final horn. Butler shot 49% overall and 39% from downtown. They were outrebounded 33-26, but that was largely offset by the 14-9 turnover differential and a 12-2 advantage in fast break points. Plus, Notre Dame's advantage in second chance points was only 12-9.

The Bulldogs turn right around and play the Indiana Hoosiers for the right to go to Madison Square Garden for the NIT final four. Game time is Tuesday, November 14, at 9:00 p.m. EST. The game will be televised live on ESPN. Hope to see you there.

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