Pierre Brooks II scored a layup with 3.2 seconds left to help Butler beat Utah 86-84 in the first round of the College Basketball Crown tournament on Monday afternoon in Las Vegas.
Gabe Madsen tied the game for Utah on a 3-pointer with 1:17 left and the Utes had a chance to take the lead, but Miro Little airballed a jumper with 27 seconds remaining. Little’s miss opened the door for Brooks’ game-winner.
Brooks led Butler with 22 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Finley Bizjack added 16 points while Kolby King had 12 (all in the second half) and Andre Screen chipped in 10 points and eight boards.
The Bulldogs (15-19) beat Utah for the fourth straight time after making 13 of 32 3-point attempts (40.6 percent). Butler will face Boise State in the quarterfinals on Wednesday after the Broncos beat George Washington 89-59 on Monday.
Keanu Dawes scored 19 points and collected 11 rebounds to lead Utah. Madsen tallied 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting for the Utes. Ezra Ausar added 15 points and Jake Wahlin chipped in 10 points.
Utah (16-17) shot just 36.7 percent from the field in the second half.
Dawes scored eight straight Utes points — punctuated by back-to-back baskets — to fuel an 11-3 run and help Utah built an eight-point lead late in the first half. Zach Keller capped the run with a 3-pointer that put the Utes up 41-33 with 4:17 left before halftime.
Utah extended its lead to 60-49 on a pair of free throws from Dawes with 14:53 left. Butler rallied and erased the deficit midway through the second half.
The Bulldogs scored six straight baskets to tie it at 67-67. That formed part of a larger, go-ahead 21-5 run. Brooks and King knocked down three baskets apiece to fuel the spurt. King’s layup capped the run and put Butler up 73-67 with 6:13 left.
–Field Level Media
