Butler wins on final heave

A.J. Graves sank a half-court shot at the buzzer to lift No. 16 Butler to a 57-55 win over Southern Illinois on Friday night in Carbondale, Ill.

Wesley Clemmons made a 3-pointer with just more than a minute remaining to give the Salukis a 55-52 lead, but Mike Green converted a layup for the Bulldogs.

Southern Illinois’ Tyrone Green then missed a free throw, setting the stage for Graves’ shot.

Graves took the in-bounds pass, weaved his way across midcourt and launched his shot that caromed off the rim, off the backboard and through the net as time expired.

“It wasn’t a prayer,” Graves said smiling. “It was a shot I’m capable of making.”

Green led Butler (12-1) with 19 points. Matt Howard added 15 and Graves finished with 10.

Joshua Bone scored a career-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Salukis (5-6). Randal Falker added 14 points.

Butler went without a field goal for nearly 14 minutes of the second half yet was even at 47 with 3 minutes remaining.

(22) Mississippi 78, Southern Mississippi 58: At Southaven, Miss., Chris Warren scored 17 points, Dwayne Curtis added 15 and the Rebels (12-0) set a school record for consecutive wins to start the season with a victory over the Golden Eagles (8-5).

Warren started two runs that helped Ole Miss hold off Southern Miss, including a personal 7-1 run that straddled halftime and featured a 3-pointer from 30 feet as time expired in the first half.

(25) Rhode Island 92, Eastern Michigan 75: At Corpus Christi, Texas, Will Daniels and Jimmy Baron scored 18 points each to lead the Rams (12-1) to a win over the Eagles (4-5) in the Islander Invitational.

The muscular, 6-foot-8 Daniels did most of his damage inside for Rhode Island, which was playing its first game as a Top 25 team since the 1998-99 season. Baron scored from the outside, shooting 4 of 9 from 3-point range.

Women’s Top 10

Middle Tennessee 67, (8) LSU 56: At Murfreesboro, Tenn., Amber Holt scored a career-high 41 points and added nine rebounds to help the Blue Raiders (7-5) upset the Lady Tigers (9-3).

Holt finished one shy of the school record for points in a game.