Related To Story FINAL FOUR
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Butler Advances To NCAA Sweet 16
Bulldogs Beat Murray State
POSTED: 5:32 pm EDT March 20, 2010
UPDATED: 6:00 pm EDT March 20, 2010
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Ronald Nored hit a tiebreaking layup and free throw with 25.4 seconds left, and Butler narrowly evaded 13th-seeded Murray State's second upset attempt in three days, advancing to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament with a 54-52 victory Saturday.Nored scored 15 points and Gordon Hayward had 12 before making the decisive defensive play for the fifth-seeded Bulldogs (30-4), who extended the nation's longest winning streak to 22 games.Butler advanced to the round of 16 for the second time in four years -- but only after surviving a thriller against the undersized but big-hearted Racers (31-5), who beat fourth-seeded Vanderbilt in the first round of the West Regional on a buzzer-beater.Isaiah Canaan scored 14 points and hit four 3-pointers for the Racers. He had the ball on Murray State's last possession, but Hayward deflected his pass into the backcourt in the final seconds.Butler gave up a nine-point lead in the second half but secured victory in the late stages of the game.The Bulldogs will face the winner of the Syracuse/Gonzaga game next Thursday in Salt Lake City.
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