Butler outlasts Villanova in double overtime

DJ Davis scored 28 points and Jahmyl Telfort added 22 and 11 rebounds to lead the Butler Bulldogs to an 88-81 come-from-behind, double-overtime win over the visiting Villanova Wildcats on Saturday.

Pierre Brooks II added 13 points and six boards for Butler (14-7, 5-5 Big East).

Eric Dixon led Villanova (11-9, 4-5) with 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor while Tyler Burton added 13 points and 10 boards.

It took the Bulldogs a while to get going in the first, missing 10 of their first 11 shots and trailing 15-2 to start the game.

Villanova shot the ball efficiently and controlled the half, going into the break up 36-27 after shooting 57 percent as a team.

Butler got back into the game early in the second half with a key 6-0 run. Both teams then went cold on offense, with neither making a field goal for over five minutes.

Dixon knocked down a 3-pointer with 8:46 left in the second half to extend the Wildcats' lead to 47-37.

The Bulldogs slowly crawled back and eventually went on a 14-5 run to trim their deficit to 64-62 with one minute to go.

Butler sent the game into overtime thanks to Telfort throwing down a thunderous dunk to tie the score at 64-64.

It was a back-and-forth overtime period before Butler once again tied it with 5 seconds left when Davis hit a layup. Justin Moore missed a shot from beyond the arc, the game went to double-OT tied at 72-72.

After Villanova controlled most of the double-OT period, Butler finally broke through. The Bulldogs ripped off a 6-0 run to lead 80-78 with 41 seconds to go.

After a 3-pointer by Dixon, Butler went on another 6-0 run to secure the victory.

Butler can sweep the season series when the two teams meet Feb. 20 at Villanova.