Big Men Shine in Butler, Valpo Victories

Horizon League Men's Basketball Scoreboard (Jan. 15, 2012)
Butler 71, Youngstown State 56
Valparaiso 72, Cleveland State 66

The weekend in Horizon League men's basketball did nothing to provide separation at the top of the standings, as Butler and Valparaiso each remained near the top of the conference standings with victories on Sunday afternoon.

Butler 71, Youngstown State 56
With its offense and defense clicking on all cylinders, Butler breezed past visiting Youngstown State, 71-56, at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon.

Butler (10-9, 4-3 Horizon) moved into a tie for fourth in the Horizon League standings, matching the record of Youngstown State (9-8, 4-3 Horizon), who dropped both games of its road trip to Valparaiso and Butler.

The duo of Andrew Smith and Kameron Woods enabled the Bulldogs to control the game from the outset, with Smith scoring 10 of his 20 points in the first half and Woods adding eight points and eight boards in the first 20 minutes. Woods' four offensive boards led directly to all eight of his points; the freshman collected his third career double-double with 10 points and 10 boards in the game.

With 11 more attempts than Youngstown State in the first half, Butler was able to overcome a Youngstown State barrage that saw the Penguins hit 6-of-12 three-pointers in the opening half. The Bulldogs' defense forced 10 turnovers in the opening half, right at YSU's season average.

Taking a 34-27 lead into the half, Butler used a 15-3 run after a Damian Eargle jumper to build an 18-point lead midway through the half. Jackson Aldridge capped the burst with back-to-back three-pointers. The advantage would stretch to 20 points with 8:18 left before Youngstown State would come as close as 62-53 after a Kendrick Perry layup with 2:37 on the clock.

Butler would hit free throws down the stretch, with Roosevelt Jones capping the win with a highlight-reel dunk.

Aldridge was the third Bulldog in double figures with 10 points, while Youngstown State's Ashen Ward led all players with 21 points. Ward led the Penguins with five of the team's eight three-pointers. Perry was the only other Penguin in double figures with 10 points.

Valparaiso 72, Cleveland State 66
Kevin Van Wijk told the media that he was looking forward to the physical test Cleveland State provided, and the junior delivered, matching his career high with 23 points to lead Valparaiso to a 72-66 win over the Vikings at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

Valparaiso (12-7, 5-2 Horizon) pulled into a second place tie in the Horizon League with Cleveland State (15-4, 5-2 Horizon), who fell just shy of becoming the first team to sweep the Butler-Valparaiso road trip in three years. 32 teams have fallen short of the mark since the teams became travel partners.

The Crusaders dominated the interior, shooting 75 percent inside the three-point arc and 60 percent overall. Van Wijk led the effort on the inside, going 10-of-13 from the floor, adding three free throws as he fought through foul trouble to lift the Crusaders.

With Van Wijk out with four fouls, Cleveland State was able to erase a 45-34 deficit, using a 19-4 burst to assume a 53-49 lead with 8:48 on the clock after a three-pointer by D'Aundray Brown and a traditional three-point play by Anton Grady capped the burst.

Van Wijk returned to the floor and sparked a Crusader run, scoring seven points during a 13-4 Valpo run over the next five minutes, which also featured four points from Matt Kenney and a jumper by Jay Harris, putting Valpo back in front 62-57 with 4:12 remaining. Trey Harmon responded with a 3-pointer two possessions later to move the Vikings back within 62-60, where the score would remain as the clock hit two minutes to play.

Valpo forced a pair of inside misses from the Vikings, with Ryan Broekhoff grabbing the rebound off the second miss, getting fouled and hitting a pair of free throws to make it a four-point game. CSU missed 3-pointers on its next two trips, and the Crusaders took advantage of the second miss, as Erik Buggs found Harris in transition for a layup, pushing the advantage to 66-60 with 1:04 remaining.

Four Crusaders ended the night in double figures, with Broekhoff notching 14 points and handing out six assists. Harris finished with 12 points and Kenney added 10.

Tim Kamczyc led Cleveland State with 18 points, while Harmon posted 13 and Jeremy Montgomery 11. Entering the afternoon 56-for-121 from three-point range over its last six games, CSU went just 6-for-21 against the Crusaders, thwarting its efforts throughout the game.