Sports

Final Score: Butler 69, La Salle 58

Brooklyn, NY (Sports Network) - Rotnei Clarke had 14 points in Butler's 69-58 win over La Salle in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Khyle Marshall added 13 points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs (26-7), who have won four straight games on the heels of losing three times in a five-game stretch.

Butler will play top-seeded Saint Louis in Saturday's semifinals.

La Salle's top two scorers, Ramon Galloway and Sam Mills, combined for just seven points on 2-of-18 shooting.

The Explorers (21-9), who were without center Steve Zack and outrebounded by a 41-23 margin for the contest, will be sweating out a possible NCAA Tournament bid until Sunday.

Jerrell Wright split a pair of free throws to pull the Explorers within 39-38 early in the second half, but Butler countered with a 13-4 run to seize control of the contest. Erik Fromm capped the burst with a layup to vault the Bulldogs to a 52-42 cushion with 11:49 to play.

Mills' triple -- his lone field goal of the game -- cut the deficit to 64-58 with a little over five minutes left, but Clark answered with a trey of his own and the Bulldogs weren't threatened the rest of the way.

Earlier, Kellen Dunham's 3-pointer helped Butler jump out to a 15-6 advantage, but La Salle fought back and took its first lead when Tyrone Garland sunk three free throws and a triple around a jumper by the Bulldogs' Kameron Woods to give the Explorers a 32-31 edge late in the half.

Butler went into the break owning a 37-35 cushion.