VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Patrick Farrell missed his first free throw, and was off on his second. With only 19 seconds left in the game, the pressure was on for Farrell to make the third. The Villanova fans stood and cheered, and his teammates were stoked, yelling from the bench at the sophomore forward that the final one would be good. Farrell practiced his motion, took a breath, released, and watched as the basketball bounced twice around the rim before it plopped through the net. The eighth-ranked Wildcats went wild, celebrating Farrells first point of the season like a game-winner, and not just the finishing touches of a 67-48 victory over Butler on Wednesday night. For a team that played about 30 minutes of basketball to forget, that moment of team bonding for the deepest of deep reserves was one to remember. "I love that," coach Jay Wright said. "Thats whats special about this team." The Wildcats (25-3, 13-2 Big East) survived one of their worst halves of the season to win for the ninth time in 10 games. They needed almost the first 10 minutes of the game to score 10 points, missed eight of their first nine 3-point attempts, and didnt have a player reach double digits in scoring until midway through the second half. "Youve got to find a way to grind against them," Wright said. "Ill take that." Darrun Hilliard and James Bell led them with only 11 points each and the Wildcats put up the kind of numbers that usually lead to a loss. Not against the lowly Bulldogs (12-16, 2-14). Butler was even worse, shooting only 26 per cent in the first half, and the Bulldogs lost their seventh straight game. The Wildcats had a small hot streak at the end of the first half, making 5 of 6 shots, to build enough of a cushion and slowly pull away. The Wildcats fell shy of their 79.9 points per game average and played for about 35 minutes looking nothing like the team that has become one of the best in the Big East. Each team took turns trading clunkers and clangers in the first 10 minutes, one reason the Wildcats only led 10-4. With 6 minutes left in the half, the Bulldogs and Wildcats combined for only 26 points. And no, Bo Ryan wasnt coaching either of the teams. The Pavilion had all the atmosphere of an art museum on a sleepy Sunday morning, making this one feel more like a bad NBA preseason game than the final on-campus home game of the season. Wright did let senior reserves Nick McMahon and Tony Chennault start -- though McMahon played only 20 seconds before he was benched for Ryan Arcidiacono. McMahon couldnt have been worse than the rest of the offence. Villanova missed 12 of its first 15 shots, most from 3-point range. The Wildcats were determined to keep shooting 3s until they fell. Bell and Arcidiacono did hit two straight near the end of the first half for a 28-15 lead. Butlers Kellen Dunham buried the shot of the game with a high banker for 3 that cut it to 34-20 at halftime. He led Butler with 12 points. Hard to believe these teams needed overtime before Villanova pulled out the win in their first matchup. "We didnt have it tonight," coach Brandon Miller said. "When you keep getting the results you dont want, it weighs on you a little bit." Bell was the lone senior regular for the Wildcats and exchanged an emotional hug with Wright after he checked out for the final time. "It was tough," Bell said. "I dont see my mom that much. My dad works a lot, doesnt really get the chance to get down that much. That was probably the toughest part, seeing my mom crying. Other than that, it was time to play." Pick a stat in the first half and both teams probably wish the number could be wiped from the record book. Butler missed 8 of 10 3s; Nova missed 12 of 16. Butler had two starters who went scoreless in the half. The Wildcats shot 38 per cent from the field. But theres a reason the Wildcats have spent most of the season in the Top 25, and they showed why in the second half, going more than 25 minutes without a turnover during a 16-3 run that stretched the lead to 24 points. Butler scored six baskets in the first half, and didnt reach seven for a second-half total until there was 1:51 left. While the Wildcats are in the hunt for a top-three seed in the NCAA tournament, the Bulldogs need a shocking conference tournament championship to have any shot at returning for some March Madness. "This is a really good group to coach," Wright said. "Its been a pleasure all year. But it cant let that prevent us from driving them and them driving themselves to get better." Cory Gearrin Jersey . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. Masahiro Tanaka Jersey . The Blue Jackets play Thursday night at New Jersey in their first game after the NHLs Olympic hiatus. A native of Trencin, Slovakia, Gaborik has represented his country at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics but was unable to play in Sochi because of his injury. https://www.cheapyankees.com/1311g-chanc...ey-yankees.html. Los Angeles announced its new deal for Kupchak late in the fourth quarter of a 145-130 loss to the Houston Rockets. Kupchak had one year left on his current contract. Joe Girardi Jersey .com) - Sergio Agueros 63rd-minute goal was enough to lift Manchester City to a 1-0 win over 10-man Manchester United on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium. Luis Cessa Jersey .Y. - The Buffalo Sabres reassigned forward Sam Reinhart to the WHLs Kootenay Ice on Friday.BOSTON - The Toronto Blue Jays, the presumptive favourites to win the American League East when the 2013 season began, instead watched the Red Sox celebrate as division champions on Friday night. Ace left-hander Jon Lester paced the Red Sox to a 6-3 win over Toronto with seven innings of one run ball. He improved to 15-8. Koji Uehara, the first reliable closer in Boston since Jonathan Papelbon left for Philadelphia two years ago, notched his 20th save. BLUE JAYS WATCH RED SOX CELEBRATE Prior to the game, Mark DeRosa told TSN.ca if the Red Sox clinched against the Blue Jays this weekend, he hoped Toronto players would watch the celebration and be energized by the scene, wanting to experience a similar feeling next year. Here is some post-game reaction: "These guys know whats at stake," manager John Gibbons said of his ballclub. "They know where were trying to go. Theyve got a great team over there, they really do. They ran away with a good division. Its not even close right now so that speaks volumes of how good they are. Tonights a perfect example, good pitching, good defence and a lot of hitting. I mean, thats a good recipe." "Its really frustrating because weve got the talent to be like that," said starter Esmil Rogers, who didnt get out of the third inning and fell to 5-8 on the year. "Weve got so many opportunities to do that and we didnt make it so I think God made a decision to give the opportunity to this team to make it. I hope that God gives the opportunity to us for next year so we can be cellebrating like that, too.dddddddddddd." "I mean thats what you play for," said DeRosa, who played on the great Braves teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s and won a World Series with the Giants in 2010. "I know you go through different phases in your career, wanting to establish yourself and then provide for your family but at the same time thats what its about. Hopefully it triggers something and guys are ready to roll. I mean, theyre a perfect example of a team that loves playing together and finding a way to win. They dont kill you with a bunch of names. Big Papi is one of the best hitters in the game. I mean, they just have a really good team top to bottom and they play together." RASMUS INJURED As of the publishing of this piece, centre fielder Colby Rasmus was in a Boston hospital undergoing a CT scan on his face. Rasmus was injured while taking his position before the bottom of the first inning. Anthony Gose, playing right field, made a warm-up throw in Rasmus direction. Rasmus wasnt looking and the ball hit him near the left eye. Gose was shaken after the game. "I threw the ball and I hit him in the face," said Gose. "I thought he was looking at me and I just tried to throw it to him and I hit him right in the face." Rasmus injury forced a complete restructuring of the outfield. Anthony Gose, who was to play in right field, moved to centre field. Rajai Davis shifted from left field to right. Kevin Pillar entered the game in Rasmus lineup spot and played left field. ' ' '