NEW YORK — Simas Lukosius hit a jumper on the first possession in overtime to give ninth-seeded Butler a lead it would not relinquish en route to an 89-82 win over eighth-seeded Xavier in the first round of the Big East Conference tournament on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs trailed by six points with less than a minute remaining in regulation until Chuck Harris scored six straight points in 19 seconds to tie the game at 66. Xavier retook the lead on an acrobatic layup by Paul Scruggs, who tossed the ball toward the rim as he was fouled. He missed the free throw, which would have given the Musketeers a three-point lead, then inexplicably fouled Lukosius near mid-court.
The freshman from Lithuania hit both free throws with five seconds remaining to send the game to overtime after a second half that saw eight lead changes and four ties.
After Lukosius opened overtime with a bucket, he hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 73-68 lead. After four Xavier free throws made it a one-point game, Lukosius hit another three-pointer.
He scored 12 of his 27 points in overtime for the Bulldogs.
Harris tied his career high with a season-high 29 points to lead Butler. Bryce Nze had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who will face Providence Thursday at noon.
Butler needs to win the Big East Tournament title to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Jack Nunge had 26 points and nine rebounds for Xavier, who may have seen their tournament hopes dashed with the loss.
