No. 10 Butler 68, Fordham 63: Rotnei Clarke scored 22 points for the visiting Bulldogs, the last on a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds left that clinched the Atlantic 10 victory.

Roosevelt Jones added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Andrew Smith contributed 12 points for Butler (21-5, 8-3).

Fordham senior forward Chris Gaston, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder the previous three seasons, returned after missing the last seven games with a knee injury and scored a team-high 21 points for the Rams (6-20, 2-9).

The Bulldogs used a 13-0 run to take a 43-35 lead with 14:08 remaining. The Rams got as close as 65-63 on a layup by Leonard Travion with 18 seconds left, but Luka Zivkovic missed a potential tying 3-pointer with eight seconds left. Clarke then stepped to the line and sealed the victory.

Fordham didn’t score its first points until 15:18 remained in the first half, then scored nine unanswered to take its first lead. Butler scored the last seven points of the half to move ahead 30-26, but the Rams scored the first nine of the second half to go on top 35-30.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Smith, the team’s second-leading scorer, was cleared to play Friday after missing Wednesday’s loss to Charlotte with an abdominal injury. … Fordham and Butler met one other time, a victory by the Bulldogs in the first round of the NIT in 1959. … Butler missed three free throws in the final 49 seconds to keep the door open for Fordham.