Butler survived a late flurry from Northwestern that saw the Wildcats have two attempts from inside the lane that could have tied the contest as Butler took a 71-69 win on Thanksgiving as part of the Arizona Tip-Off in Tempe.
 
Jahmyl Telfort led the Bulldogs with 23 points and five assists.
 
With the win, Butler improves to 5-1, while Northwestern falls to 5-2.
 
Butler advances to the Arizona Tip-Off title game and will play the winner of the match-up between No. 25 Mississippi State and UNLV that will be played later tonight.
 
HOW IT TRANSPIRED:

• A 17-2 run by the Bulldogs, spanning nearly six minutes, gave Butler a 21-8 lead with 8:05 remaining in the opening half. Andre Screen had eight points during that spurt.
• Northwestern would turn the tables, closing the first half on a 13-2 run to erase Butler's largest lead of the first half (14) and turn it into a 31-28 Butler edge after the first 20 minutes.
• Butler was only able to build a six-point lead in the second half before Northwestern eventually took their only lead of the second half at 53-52 with 6:31 remaining.
• The Bulldogs responded by scoring eight of the next 10 points to take a 60-55 lead.
• Two Telfort free throws with 22 seconds remaining gave Butler a 68-63 lead. Butler would foul several times to prevent Northwestern from taking three-pointers.
• Northwestern would draw within one utilizing those free throws, but a Boden Kapke free throw gave Butler a 71-69 advantage with five seconds left on the clock. That is when the Wildcats got two looks in the lane with the game-tying attempt rimming out.

 
NOTEWORTHY:

• Telfort went 7-for-12 from the field (including two three-pointers) and made all seven of his free throw attempts.
• Screen scored 15 points and added nine rebounds. The 15 points were the most he has scored in a Butler uniform and Thursday was the third consecutive game he has pulled down nine rebounds.
• Butler was able to overcome 15 turnovers, while Northwestern committed only five.
• Finley Bizjack (12) and Patrick McCaffery (10) also found double figures.
• Brooks Barnhizer led Northwestern with 24 points.
• Nick Martinelli, Northwestern's leading scorer (and ranked fourth nationally) averaging 23.8 points per game, was limited to only seven on 3-for-15 shooting.
• Butler held Northwestern to 36-percent shooting.

 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will play either Mississippi State or UNLV in Friday night's championship game at 9:30 p.m. (Eastern, 7:30 p.m. in Tempe). The game will air on CBS Sports Network, while the audio broadcast featuring Mark Minner and Nick Garder will stream on The Varsity Network.