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LAHAINA » Butler coach Brad Stevens considered a question about Chaminade’s history of enormous upsets.
"I love giant-killers," the sixth-year coach deadpanned.
You see, his Butler Bulldogs have been known to do that themselves from time to time. The 2010 and 2011 national runners-up updated their resume on Tuesday with an 82-71 defeat of No. 9 North Carolina in a semifinal game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
The small school (enrollment about 4,000) from Indianapolis won’t face Chaminade in the final; the Silverswords couldn’t hang with speedy Illinois in the other semi. But in many ways Butler (3-1) channeled the spirit of the Division II tournament host, taking the fight right at a bigger, more physically gifted opponent, then buckling down for dear life when the behemoth stirred.
UNC (4-1) cut a 29-point lead to six with a minute left using small-ball pressure, but got no closer.
Now with one more win in the 5 p.m. championship against the Fighting Illini, Butler of the Atlantic 10 Conference can earn a Maui title to go with that of the Diamond Head Classic it won here two years ago.
Butler’s dimensions on the upset blueprint were drawn up like this: 3 by 3.
As in, 3-pointer by 3-pointer, the Bulldogs built their sizable lead. They went 12-for-25 from long range for the game, including 7-for-9 in the second half.
Coming off his dramatic game-winner over Marquette in the quarterfinals, senior guard Rotnei Clarke came out with similar swagger, scoring 14 points in the first period with a series of difficult attempts.
He turned to teammates Kellen Dunham, a freshman, and Chase Stigall, a reserve, to make the hero shots from there.
"I just wanted to come in being aggressive again and try to get my teammates involved as well," Clarke said. "That wasn’t all about me. A bunch of guys stepped up, and we had, like Coach said, our fifth-year senior, Chase Stigall hit some shots, and Kellen hit shots, and it was a team effort as a whole."
Stevens declined to say if this group showed him anything similar to his NCAA finals squads, but he lauded their shot-making ability.
"You feel good about all those guys taking them," Stevens said. "If Kellen and Rotnei are open, it’s got a good chance of going in."
Those two combined to go 9-for-15 from deep.
After two 3s and a no-look pass for another hoop by Dunham, the whopping lead stood at 60-31.
UNC coach Roy Williams thought his team came out "fat and happy" after its 95-49 rout of Mississippi State on Day 1.
He also conceded that the Bulldogs beat his Tar Heels in the effort department after the Heels were outrebounded 24-12 in the first half — after which Butler led by 17 — and 39-29 for the game. Projected first-round NBA Draft pick James Michael McAdoo was held to 10 points and committed seven turnovers.
"I like their toughness and intelligence more than their talent, and I love their talent," Williams said of Butler. "Biggest thing is give Butler a lot of credit. You have that kind of toughness and intelligence, that’s pretty doggone good. And 7-out-of-9 shooting in the second half, that’s tough to beat."
North Carolina could have tied Duke for the all-time Maui wins record of 15, but instead had a 10-game win streak in the event snapped. The Heels last lost in the 1995 final to Villanova, 77-75.
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