National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Villanova 76, Butler 73
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: # Doug Shows, # Jeff Anderson, # Jim Burr
Attendance: 9318

No.14 Villanova 76, Butler 73 (OT): JayVaughn Pinkston scored 22 points and was dominate on the inside as the visiting Wildcats opened Big East Conference play with a victory over the Bulldogs.

Pinkston made 8-of-16 field goals and Darrun Hilliard scored 11 of his 15 points from the foul line for the Wildcats (12-1), who rebounded from a loss to former Big East rival and No. 2 Syracuse. Josh Hart supplied 10 points, James Bell had seven points and eight rebounds and Ryan Arcidiacono notched nine points and four steals.

Elijah Brown hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 19 points and Kellen Dunham scored 22 points, including 15 of the last 18 points for the Bulldogs (10-3), who lost in their first Big East game. Erik Fromm added nine points and Alex Barlow had a game-high nine rebounds and six points to go with five assists.

Villanova scored the first eight points of the second half to increase its cushion to 43-34 and maintained a lead until Brown hit a 3-pointer with 5:23 remaining to give Butler a short-lived 64-63 lead. Pinkston answered with a jumper and Hilliard tacked on a free throw for the Wildcats, who missed their chance to win it in the final seconds after Dunham tied it with a contested jumper with 22 seconds left in regulation.

Arcidiacono opened the extra session with a 3-pointer and Hilliard hit a pair of free throws a minute later before Dunham countered with a deep 3-pointer. Dunham then followed Hilliard's free throw with a layup and had another after two missed free throws by the Wildcats, who denied the Bulldogs a chance at a winning shot after two Pinkston free throws completed the scoring with three seconds left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Butler made just 10 field goals in the first half, but half were 3-pointers. ... The teams combined to go 17-of-20 from the foul line in the first half and 36-of-46 for the game. ... The first half featured nine ties and 10 lead changes and ended with Villanova leading 35-34 after scoring 24 points in the paint.
Top Game Performances
 
Villanova   Butler
JayVaughn Pinkston 22 Scoring Kellen Dunham 22
Ryan Arcidiacono 3 Assists Alex Barlow 5
James Bell 8 Rebounds Alex Barlow 9
Darrun Hilliard 11 Free Throws Made Elijah Brown 7
Ryan Arcidiacono 4 Steals Alex Barlow 3
JayVaughn Pinkston 3 Blocks Erik Fromm 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Villanova 76 50.0 5-16 19-27 13 27 7 10 16
Butler 73 39.7 10-28 17-19 14 32 2 6 15