Matt Howard (54) celebrates his game-winning layup with his Butler teammates. (Photo: Associated Press)

Matt Howard's layup at the buzzer sent the Butler Bulldogs into the third round of the NCAA Tournament as they defeated the Old Dominion University Monarchs 60-58 Thursday afternoon at the Verizon Center. The Bulldogs, who won their 10th straight game overall, will face the winner of this afternoon's second game between Pittsburgh and UNC-Asheville on Saturday in the third round of the Southeast Regional.

Howard's heroics were set up after ODU's Kent Bazemore hit two foul shots with 31.2 seconds to play to tie the game at 58-58. Eschewing a timeout, Butler's Shawn Vanzant drove down the right side of the lane, but lost his balance and tried to flip a desperation shot at the basket. The ball was tapped around the interior before Howard got a hold of the ball and laid it off the glass to send the hundreds of Butler fans at the Verizon Center into hysterics.

The second half was full of more twists and turns than your average suspense novel. The Bulldogs appeared to be in trouble after Howard and his frontcourt mate, Andrew Smith, picked up their third fouls early in the second period. Smith went on to pick up a fourth foul, but remarkably, neither team saw a player foul out despite combining to shoot 34 free throws in the second half.

Butler responded well to the adversity and took a 49-43 lead, the largest either team enjoyed in the game. But the Monarchs battled back to take a 50-49 lead on two foul shots by Keyon Carter, and the stage was set for a dramatic finish. Butler appeared to have the game put away again when two Howard free throws made the score 58-52 with 2:43 remaining. But ODU came again, and scored the next six points to set up Howard's heroics.

The two teams played a back-and-forth first half that saw the lead change hands 12 times before Frank Hassell's putback layup with three seconds to go gave Old Dominion a 29-27 lead at the half. The big difference in the first 20 minutes was the strength of ODU's bench -- which outscored Butler 10-2 before halftime -- and the Monarchs' defense, which held Butler to just 37.9% shooting (11-for-29) from the field in the first half.

Senior Hassell led all scorers with 20 points for the Monarchs, but he was the only player on his team to finish in double figures. Howard and Shelvin Mack finished with 15 points apiece for Butler, while Smith chipped in with 11 points.