NEW YORK – Simas Lukosius went into the world’s most famous arena and made himself famous.
The 19-year-old Lithuanian scored 12 consecutive Butler points, including the tying free throws with five seconds left in regulation and 12 in overtime, as the ninth-seeded Bulldogs shocked No. 8 seed Xavier 89-82 Wednesday night in the Big East tournament.
The Bulldogs trailed by six points with 45 seconds left but took advantage of missed free throws to deliver Xavier a year-end defeat for the third year in a row.
They played OT without starters Chuck Harris, Bo Hodges and Aaron Thompson, all of whom fouled out.