DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Ronald Nored's three foul shots in the game's last 31 seconds, including a tiebreaking free throw with 2 seconds remaining, led Butler over Wright State 63-62 on Friday night.
Nored could just as easily have been the goat rather than the hero for Butler (9-7, 3-1 Horizon League), though. His attempt to purposely miss the second of two free throws to run out the clock backfired when he prematurely stepped over the line while shooting, giving the ball back to Wright State for one last chance.
The Raiders (8-9, 3-2) got the ball in to leading scorer Julius Mays, who had 24 points and hit two 3s, but a lunging 3-point attempt from far behind the line clanged off the rim.
Andrew Smith, who led the Bulldogs with 19 points, hit two big 3-pointers from the right wing to answer Wright State scores in the game's final 2 minutes.
