Butler Collects CBI Win; Shorthanded Valpo Falls in NIT

Men’s Basketball Scoreboard:
CBI: Butler 75, Delaware 58
NIT: (2) Miami 66, (7) Valparaiso 50

Faced with first-half adversity, Butler responded with a dominant effort in winning its first round game of the College Basketball Invitational. For Valparaiso, being asked to play with just six players was too much for the Crusaders as the Horizon League regular season champions saw their season come to an end.

CBI: Butler 75, Delaware 58
Up by eight points at the half, Butler clamped down in the opening five minutes of the second half, holding visiting Delaware without a point as the Bulldogs collected a 75-58 win in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational, presented by Zebra Pen.

Butler (21-14) will play at Penn on Monday, March 19.

Chrishawn Hopkins led the Bulldogs with 19 points, as the sophomore continued his late-season consistent play. The sophomore came alive in the second half, scoring the first five points of the half as Butler jumped out to a 13-point lead 2:25 into the half and never looked back.

17 of Hopkins’ points came in the final 20 minutes, as Butler built a lead as large as 19 points and was under 10 just once in the half.

Butler set itself up for success by weathering an early flurry of fouls that sent senior Ronald Nored to the bench for the final 13 minutes of the first half. Nored sat with his second foul with the Bulldogs leading 10-9, but by the time Butler and Delaware reached the half, the Bulldogs were out front, 31-23.

Chase Stigall and Andrew Smith helped fuel the Bulldogs, as Stigall drained three three-pointers, while Smith’s lone three of the game put Butler up, 29-19, late in the half.

Eight of Smith’s 17 came in the first half, while Stigall recorded nine of his 10 in the first 20 minutes of play. Nored joined the group in double figures with 12 points.

Jarvis Threatt came off the Delaware (18-14) bench to score a career-best 32 points as Butler applied most of its defensive focus to Devon Saddler, the Blue Hen’s leading scrorer. Saddler was just 2-of-7 from the floor, finishing with 10 points and 10 turnovers.

NIT: (2) Miami 66, (7) Valparaiso 50
Fighting through a flu-ravaged roster, Valparaiso hung tough with Miami most of the way before running out of gas in a 66-50 loss in the first round of the NIT.

Valparaiso (22-12) closed its regular-season Horizon League championship campaign with 22 wins; the Crusaders bring back all of their players from this year.

In Coral Gables, however, the Crusaders were shorthanded, as Jay Harris did not make the trip due to the flu and Matt Kenney could not play because of its effects. As a result, head coach Bryce Drew played a six-man rotation, with only Richie Edwards coming off the bench for Valpo.

Despite the adversity, Valparaiso refused to go down quietly, trimming an 11-point deficit to just three, 48-45, with 6:50 to play. Ryan Broekhoff and Will Bogan each knocked down three-pointers in the spurt, with Richie Edwards’ jumper capping the run.

"The score was not an indication of how close the game was," Valparaiso coach Bryce Drew said. "I thought twice today Miami gave us a standing eight count and our guys immediately came right back."

Miami (20-12) responded with six straight points to go up nine, but the Crusaders came right back, as Erik Buggs layup closed the gap to 54-50 with 4:23 left in the game.

However, the short rotations caught up with Valpo down the stretch, as Miami scored the next 12 points to end the game.

"We only have seven scholarship players available and we really didn't have many choices as a coaching staff," Drew said. "But I was extremely proud of the six guys. They gave themselves a chance to win."

Broekhoff matched Rion Brown for game-high scoring honors, putting up 18. Richie Edwards, returning to his home state, had 16 off the bench for Valpo. As a team, the Crusaders were 5-of-27 from three-point range.

Shane Larkin and Trey McKinney Jones joined Brown in double figures, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively.