Dwayne Evans had 24 points and 11 rebounds a day after going for 25 and nine in the quarterfinals, as No. 16 Saint Louis’ defense locked down Butler in the second half for a 67-56 win Saturday to reach the Billikens’ first Atlantic 10 title game. Top-seeded Saint Louis beat the Bulldogs for the third time this season.
The Billikens (26-6) held Butler without a field goal for almost seven minutes midway through the second half to pull away. Butler was up 24-17 with more than 5½ minutes left in the first half, then shot 11 for 37 from the field the rest of the way. Leading scorer Rotnei Clarke had 10 points in the first 11 minutes; he managed only six more.
Saint Louis will face VCU who beat #25 UMass, in its first A-10 final since joining the league in 2005-06.