Butler withstood a frenetic comeback from host Georgetown and a tough performance at the free throw line to gut out a 90-87 overtime win Saturday afternoon at the Verizon Center. Senior Kellen Dunham led the Bulldogs with 29 points. With the win, Butler improves to 19-9 and 8-8 in BIG EAST play.

Butler led 79-66 with 2:37 to play before a combination of Hoya baskets and missed opportunities at the foul line pushed the game to overtime at 80-80. Tyler Wideman's fifth foul of the game put Isaac Copeland at the line for three free throws that he connected on to send the game to overtime.

In the extra period, Butler connected on eight of 12 attempts at the line, including two from senior Jordan Gathers that iced the game with two seconds to play for the final margin. He came off the bench after only playing one minute earlier in the game. Butler's Roosevelt Jones and Georgetown star D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera also fouled out during the overtime period.

"I'm really proud of that effort," said Butler coach Chris Holtmann. "We won on the road against a talented team that wasn't going to lay down for anyone. We didn't hit our free throws, but a lot of teams would have packed it in when it went to overtime. We didn't. That's a gutsy win in the BIG EAST."

A 16-0 run midway through the second half propelled Butler to a 68-54 lead after Georgetown took its first lead of the second half at 54-52 with 10:52 to play. The 16-0 run countered 13 straight points by the Hoyas. After Butler took its largest lead of the game at 73-57 with 5:52 to play, the teams would trade several scores before the Hoyas scored 17 of the last 20 points in regulation to force overtime.

Butler missed 16 of its 44 free throws, which led to some of the late theatrics. The Bulldogs were hot from behind the arc, hitting eight of 15 attempts. Butler forced the Hoyas into 23 turnovers and converted those into 34 points. Seven of the Georgetown turnovers were off Wideman steals, just one off the Butler single-game record held by teammate Austin Etherington's father, Brett. Wideman added seven points and eight rebounds. Butler only had eight turnovers in the 45 minutes.

Jones and Kelan Martin each had 18 points for Butler. Martin added seven rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Dunham's 29 came on 9-of-17 shooting, including four three-pointers. Andrew Chrabascz had eight points and a team-high four assists. Tyler Lewis came off the bench for eight points.

Smith-Rivera led Georgetown (14-15, 7-9 BIG EAST) with 26 as he was one of Georgetown's seniors recognized in a pregame ceremony. The Hoyas defeated Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Bulldogs' Senior Day one season ago.  

Butler returns to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a pair of home games to close the regular season. Seton Hall visits Wednesday night for an 8:30 p.m. contest. The game will air on FS1 and tickets are still available.