INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Northern State’s Alex Thomas made his only 3-pointer at the buzzer, beating Butler 53-50 in Wednesday night’s exhibition game.
Butler, the national runner-up each of the past two seasons, shot 32.7 percent from the field and was only 3 of 18 on 3s.
Center Andrew Smith led the Bulldogs with 19 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Khyle Marshall had 14 points and four rebounds. No other Butler players scored in double figures.
Roosevelt Jones’ layup with 4:35 to go gave Butler a 50-41 lead, but the Bulldogs didn’t score again and Thomas capped a game-ending 12-0 run with the winning 3.
Collin Pryor had 18 points and seven rebounds to lead Northern State, a Division II school from South Dakota.
