Durham hits clutch 3 to send No. 11 Providence past Butler
NEW YORK (AP) — Al Durham drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 41 seconds left for his first basket of the game, and No. 11 Providence barely got past pesky Butler 65-61 in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
Nate Watson scored a season-high 26 points for the top-seeded Friars, who avoided an early exit at Madison Square Garden after winning the first regular-season conference championship in school history.
Jared Bynum added 16 points off the bench.
The gritty Friars will play No. 4 seed Creighton or fifth-seeded Marquette on Friday night. Chuck Harris had 14 points and Bryce Golden 13 for the ninth-seeded Bulldogs.