DePaul 99, Butler 95 (2OT) - In a game that most of you saw the thrilling ending due to overlap on Fox Sports 1, Cleveland Melvin scored a game-high 30 points, including the game winner with 45 seconds remaining to get the Blue Demons their first Big East win of the season, and their first Big East win on the road since January 5th of last year. The game was sent to a first overtime when DePaul went on an 11-0 run over the final 3:20 and Rene Castro couldn't get a layup to fall as time expired.
Tommy Hamilton gave DePaul a five point lead with less than a minute left in the first extra period, but Butler eventually wiped it out, and when Melvin split a pair of free throws with nine seconds left, that gave the stage to Jackson Aldridge for some last second heroics to earn the Bulldogs an extra five minutes.
Unfortunately for Butler, they mostly wasted their newfound opportunity. DePaul held them scoreless for nearly the first half of the second overtime while building a five point lead of their own. Kellen Dunham tried his damnedest to push things for BU, scoring six of their seven points in the period, but his 30th and final point of the night only tied things at 94. A Melvin jumper and then three free throws in the final 20 seconds sent Butler tumbling to the bottom of the Big East standings at 0-3.
Hamilton and Kameron Woods had dueling double-doubles in the game. Hamilton had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Blue Demons on the glass, while Woods did the same for Butler with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Highlights courtesy of Fox Sports: