Basketball: Butler defeats Pitt 71-70 in NCAA Tournament

WASHINGTON – The top-seeded Pitt men’s basketball team fell in the final seconds to No. 8… WASHINGTON – The top-seeded Pitt men’s basketball team fell in the final seconds to No. 8 Butler in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

In the last 10 seconds, Butler’s Andrew Smith made a turnaround jump shot to give the Bulldogs the 70-69 lead. But Gilbert Brown raced up the court and drew a foul with 1.4 seconds remaining.

Brown made the first free throw to tie the game, but missed the second, and the game seemed destined for overtime. But Nasir Robinson fouled Matt Howard on the rebound, and Howard made a free throw with 0.8 seconds left to win the game, 71-70.

Pitt overcame a large first-half deficit, trailing by as many as 12 points. Pitt opened up the second half with an 11-3 run, and it was back-and-forth from there.

Butler’s hot shooting helped stun the Panthers, as Shelvin Mack drained seven 3-pointers and finished with 30 points.

Gilbert Brown led the Panthers with 24 points.

Check pittnews.com later for more details.