Dawgs advance to the championship game

The Butler Bulldogs defeated the Virgina Tech Hokies 84-78 in overtime to advance to the championship game in the Great Alaska Shootout. The Bulldogs will play Texas Tech at 12:30 AM EST Sunday morning on ESPN2.

The dawgs had 3 players in double figures. Pete Campbell scored 26 points, including 7 treys. Mike Green added 23 points and A.J. Graves scored 17 points. Green and Graves scored the majority of their points in the second half and in the overtime.

The first half went back and forth. There were several lead changes and a few ties. The Bulldogs did have a 2 point lead at halftime.

Throughout the second half, the Bulldogs built up an 11 point lead. During the last 5 minutes the Hokies went on a run which forced the game to Overtime. The Hokies had an opportunity to be up by 1 point, but were not able to make a free throw as part of a 3 point play with less than 2o seconds in regulation

During the Overtime Butler jumped out to a lead right away. The closest the Hokies ever got to Butler's lead was 3 points.

Some thoughts from the game:

1. Matt Howard and Drew Streicher both fouled out of the game during regulation. Howard and Streicher are very important on defense and this concerned me as the game progressed. Shawn Vanzant and Zach Hahn played extremely well in overtime and Willie Veasley played extremely well during regulation in their place. Even though Veasley only played briefly he has definitely improved his game since last season.

2. The Dawgs prove they can play against players with a height advantage. 8 of the 13 Hokies are listed as being taller than 6 feet 5 inches.

3. Pete Campbell continues to be amazing when shooting 3 pointers. Last night he went 7-13 behind the arc.

4. During the first half the Bulldogs missed several key shots from the free throw line. This can be difference maker in close games such as this one.