Butler freshman finishes breakout night with last-second game winner

With Butler in need of a big shot to avoid overtime against Northwestern on Wednesday night, a fresh-faced newcomer came to the Bulldogs’ rescue.

Freshman guard Kamar Baldwin’s last-second pull-up jumper from just inside the 3-point arc gave Butler a come-from-behind 70-68 victory.

When Baldwin drove left around a top-of-the-key ball screen with less than five seconds to go, Northwestern defender Scottie Lindsey could not fight over the top and 6-foot-8 Gavin Skelly had to make the switch. Baldwin took full advantage of the favorable matchup, first getting Skelly on his heels with an aggressive move toward the rim and then creating space for his shot with a step-back dribble.

Baldwin’s game winner was the culmination of a breakout game for the freshman guard. He logged 28 minutes off the bench, more than either starting point guard Tyler Lewis (21) or starting shooting guard Avery Woodson (20). His 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting were nice, but he made an even bigger impact on defense by deflecting passes, generating steals and making it tough for Northwestern star Bryant McIntosh to get a clean look.

Of course, Baldwin wasn’t the only reason Butler was able to thwart Northwestern’s upset bid.

Forward Kelan Martin scored 11 of his 22 points in the final six minutes of the second half. Forward Andrew Chrabascz sank the biggest shot of the game besides Baldwin’s, a 3-pointer that ended a 10-0 Northwestern second-half run and halved Butler’s 60-54 deficit.

There are no moral victories for a program seeking its first NCAA bid, yet Northwestern has to come away at least somewhat encouraged by how competitive it was on the road against a Butler team expected to finish in the upper half of the Big East.

The Wildcats led by six with less than six minutes to play. They just couldn’t make enough plays down the stretch to prevent Baldwin from getting the chance to beat them at the buzzer.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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