DAYTON, Ohio â€" Ronald Nored sank a free throw with 2.7 seconds left, lifting Butler over Wright State 63-62 for a fourth consecutive basketball victory Friday night before a crowd of 6,588.
Nored intentionally missed the second attempt but was called for a lane violation. Wright State had a final chance, but Julius Mays’ 3-point attempt as time expired bounced off the back rim.
Butler (9-7) pulled into a tie for first in the Horizon League at 3-1 with Milwaukee, Cleveland State and Youngstown State.
Mays (of Marion) scored 24 points for Wright State (8-9, 3-2).
Andrew Smith scored 19 for Butler, including two 3-pointers in the closing 95 seconds. Khyle Marshall scored 10 of his 14 in the second half. Nored added 11 points.
Mays pushed Wright State ahead 57-54 on a 3-pointer with 1:54 left, but Smith soon tied it with his own 3. Smith’s second 3 allowed the Bulldogs to go ahead 60-59.
The lead see-sawed throughout the second half, with neither team ahead by more than four points.
After falling behind 37-33, the Bulldogs went on a 10-2 spurt to seize a 43-39 lead. Marshall scored six of the points, capped by his basket off an inbounds pass.
However, Wright State soon reclaimed the lead 44-43 on Mays’ three-point play. Chrishawn Hopkins’ jump shot put Butler back on top, 48-47.
The Bulldogs led 27-25 at halftime. It marked only the fifth time in 16 games they were ahead at the midpoint.
Butler shot 50 percent in the first half â€" 10-of-12 on two-pointers (83 percent) and 1-of-10 on 3s.
Hopkins came off the bench to supply the spark he did in Saturday’s 54-50 win over Milwaukee.
The Bulldogs built their biggest lead of the half, 25-21, following successive baskets by Marshall.
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Call Star reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195.
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