No. 14 Butler tops Saint Joe’s 72-66 in A10 debut

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(AP) Rotnei Clarke scored 28 points and Andrew Smith had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 14 Butler to a 72-66 win over Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday night.

Clarke made six 3-pointers to help the Bulldogs (13-2, 1-0 Atlantic 10) win their 10th straight game. Butler made its A-10 debut after leaving the Horizon League.

Chris Wilson scored 15 points, and Ronald Roberts Jr. had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks (8-5, 0-1).

Langston Galloway airballed a 3-pointer, then missed a second attempt on the same possession in the final minute to end Saint Joseph’s chances. Halil Kanacevic also missed a pair of 3-point attempts with the Hawks down four.

Butler proved it’s going to be a threat to win another conference title, no matter the name of the league.

Clarke, who once scored 51 points in a game for Butler, punished Saint Joseph’s from beyond the arc for 39 minutes. He made his six 3s on 10 attempts. When the Bulldogs were off the mark, no worries. Smith was there to grab the big boards and score the inside buckets (8 of 15 from the floor).

Clarke’s 3 for a 57-56 lead gave the Bulldogs never relinquished. Each time the Hawks inched closer, Clarke just pushed them back from deep. Galloway’s 3 made it a two-point game. But Clarke, one of the top 3-point shooters in the conference, came right back down and hit one.

He quieted a Hawk Hill crowed that came believing it would see an upset and end the game bellowing their famed chant, The Hawk Will Never Die! in victory. Instead, the Bulldogs made the mad dash off the court in celebration.

There was a buzz building on Hawk Hill over an experienced and talented team that was the preseason favorite to win a revamped Atlantic 10 and had their sights set on returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008.

The Hawks knocked off then-No. 20 Notre Dame in overtime in November and lost to then-No. 11 Creighton in December.

Against their third ranked team of the season, with a packed house roaring from the opening tip, the Hawks came out flying. Wilson hit four 3-pointers in the first 5 minutes and Galloway made one for the fast 15-9 lead.

From there, the 3-pointers kept falling.

Clarke sank three to keep Butler in the game.

The Hawks brought their B-game defensively as in, blocks. C.J. Aiken swatted one into the second row and Roberts followed with one on Butler’s next possession that led to Wilson’s fifth 3 of the game off the fastbreak for a seven-point lead.

The Hawks made 8 of 13 3-pointers in the first half; Butler was 6 of 13.

Saint Joseph’s was hardly a unanimous pick to win the conference. Butler was picked six, but was one of six teams to earn a first-place vote. The Bulldogs beat then-No. 1 Indiana 88-86 in overtime to show they just might finish higher than sixth.

The Bulldogs and Hawks played each other only once before, on Jan. 31, 1941. Saint Joseph’s won 47-43. Wednesday’s game was tied 46-all 3 1/2 minutes into the second half.