WASHINGTON -- The players in the Butler locker room celebrated their latest stunning upset in the NCAA tournament by screaming, exchanging high fives and hugging each other.
Finals Mike Richards Jersey . Across the arena, Pittsburgh forward Nasir Robinson sat in front of his locker with his shoulders slumped. His voice was barely audible. "I take the blame, man. I take the blame for the loss," Robinson said, referring to the pivotal play in Butlers 71-70 victory over the top-seeded Panthers on Saturday night. Matt Howard made one free throw with 0.8 seconds left to cap a wild final sequence that enabled No. 8 seed Butler (25-9) to advance to the round of 16 and deal Pittsburgh its latest painful exit from the NCAAs. Each team had a chance to win it from the foul line in the last two seconds. After Butlers Shelvin Mack inexplicably fouled Gilbert Brown near midcourt with 1.4 seconds left, Brown made the first try to tie it. He missed the second, and Howard was fouled by Robinson while grabbing the rebound -- a foul even more unnecessary than the one that preceded it. "Ive been playing basketball my whole life and I know I shouldnt have done that. It was a stupid play," Robinson said. "It wasnt the refs fault. It was my fault." Robinson tried to answer another question, but got choked up and just shook his head side to side before putting a towel over his head. When Howard grabbed the rebound of Browns miss, it appeared the game was headed to overtime because the Bulldogs were out of timeouts. Then Robinson stuck his arm into the fray. "I was really surprised," Howard said. "I felt his arm come across mine, so I just threw the ball to the rim." Howard made the first shot, then intentionally banged the second attempt off the rim. And soon after that, Butler was rejoicing at midcourt. Mack scored 30 for the Bulldogs (25-9), who used a string of upsets to reach the championship game last year. Butler has won 11 straight overall and is 7-1 in its last eight NCAA tournament games. The 30 points were two short of Macks career high and a Butler tournament record. He went 10-for-16, including 7-of-12 from three-point range. Unlike Robinson, he got to laugh about a foul that never should have happened. "It was the dumbest mistake of my life," he acknowledged. The Bulldogs will next face Wisconsin in the Southeast regional semifinals. No matter what happens, it will almost certainly be tame compared to what Butler went through in Washington. "You win two games by three points, its going to be pretty crazy," Howard said. In their tournament opener, the Bulldogs used a tip-in by Howard to beat Old Dominion at the buzzer. Then came this one, in which Butler blew a 12-point lead and had to rally from a five-point deficit over the final 10:37. "Were not better than Old Dominion. Were not better than Pittsburgh," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "We just had the ball last." Pittsburgh (28-6) was seeking to reach the round of 16 for the sixth time in 10 years. Instead, the Panthers became just another victim of Butler magic. Pitt has made the NCAA tournament in 10 straight seasons but never gotten past the round of eight. This team loses four seniors, including Brown, centre Gary McGhee and guard Brad Wanamaker. "Anytime weve lost in the tournament, theres been no good losses," coach Jamie Dixon said. "Weve just got to keep working harder and keep having great years and keep putting ourselves in a position that were in." Brown finished with 24 points, but he will forever remember the missed free throw. "Everything could have been avoided if I make a free throw and Nasir doesnt foul," he said. Robinson will probably never remember he scored 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting. He blamed himself for the loss, but his teammates did not. "Its not he did it intentionally or anything," Brown said. "Hes a hard worker. Hes a hustler. He was just trying to make a play out there, trying to help the team win." The outcome might not have come down to that if the Panthers didnt have a shot-clock violation with 10 seconds left. That was one their 12 turnovers, compared to six by Butler. Pittsburgh trailed 41-32 before Brown drilled a three-pointer, Wanamaker made a layup and Robinson sank two straight layups to tie it with 15:24 left. After a timeout, Wanamaker hit a jumper to cap the 11-0 run and give the Panthers their first lead since 4-2. Soon after that, Pittsburgh reeled off seven straight points to go up 53-48. To no ones surprise, Butler wouldnt go away. If Mack was nervous about playing the Big East regular-season champions, it wasnt evident by his demeanour during the Star Spangled Banner: He yawned. Once the game started, however, the junior guard played with intensity and poise. Mack scored 16 points in the first half, sinking four three-pointers, and the Bulldogs committed only two turnovers in taking a 38-30 lead at the break. Because the 6-foot-11 McGhee clogged the lane when Butler had the ball, the Bulldogs opted to take their chances from the outside. Howard hit a pair of three-pointers, Mack and Shawn Vanzant also scored from beyond the arc, and Butler went 8-for-11 from the field in opening up a 20-14 lead. Minutes later, Bulldogs reserve guard Zach Hahn connected from long range, Khyle Marshall jammed home a follow shot and Mack hit a three to start a 10-2 spurt that made it 30-18. Brown then scored five points in an 11-0 Pittsburgh run that ended when Mack popped a three-pointer from the top of the key.
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Replicas Eli Manning Jersey . Keppinger drove in a career-best four runs for the Astros, who snapped a five- game skid. Carlos Lee hit a solo home run for Houston, which got an RBI apiece from Michael Bourn and Cory Sullivan. Felipe Paulino went six frames in the start, allowing two runs on two hits.Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Hideki Matsui blasted a grand slam in the first inning, providing all the necessary offense in the Angels 4-2 win over the Rockies. Matsui hit his sixth career grand slam and first since 2008 with the Yankees, as the Angels snapped a two-game losing streak and won for the sixth time in nine games. Additionally, LA avoided what could have been a three-game sweep, which marks the 76th consecutive home series in which the Angels have not been swept. Joe Saunders (6-8) improved to a league-best 25-9 in his career after a team loss after allowing just two runs on four hits and two walks in seven strong innings. Brian Fuentes recorded his 13th save. "I was working on stuff in the bullpen," Saunders said. "My curve ball and slider were working good tonight. I was just trying to be more consistent." Clint Barmes homered for the Rockies, who lost for only the third time in nine games. Aaron Cook (2-5) went the distance in the loss, allowing three earned runs, four hits and a walk. Following his shaky first inning that ended up costing him the game, he set the Angels down in order six times, giving up only two more baserunners -- both in the seventh. "It was unfortunate for Cook because I feel that was as good as hes pitched all year," said Rockies manager Jim Tracy. "That was a winning performance, and he has nothing to show for it tonight." The Angeels scored all the runs they needed with one swing of the bat in the opening inning.
DeSean Jackson Jersey. With one out, Kevin Frandsen singled, and Bobby Abreu reached on a fielders choice when Ian Stewart committed an error. A Torii Hunter single loaded the bases for Matsui, whose grand slam to center gave LA a 4-0 lead. "I was waiting for a sinker that was up in the zone," Matsui said. "I tried to avoid any pitch that I would hit into the ground. I wasnt looking for the result, just a pitch I could drive somewhere." Barmes got the Rockies on the board with a leadoff homer in the third, and Melvin Moras one-out double in the fourth was followed by a Miguel Olivo RBI single for a 4-2 game. Both pitchers took over from there. Saunders allowed only one more baserunner in his outing -- a leadoff walk in the sixth -- while no Angel batter reached until the seventh. Cook, though, recovered to get out of the seventh unscathed, although the Rockies were unable to score off Fernando Rodney or Fuentes in the eighth and ninth, respectively. Game Notes Rockies second baseman Jonathan Herrera extended his hitting streak to eight games...The Angels are 10-7 in interleague play...Cook recorded his 11th career complete game, although he fell to 0-5 on the road this season...The Angels have not lost three straight games since May 4-6...The Rockies are 9-5 in interleague play. ' ' '
