Butler Earns Trip To Horizon Championship Game

March 4, 2006

Box Score

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Avery Sheets scored 20 points and A.J. Graves added 19 points as Butler led the entire game, routing Wisconsin-Green Bay, 73-51, in a Horizon League semifinals Saturday.

Butler (19-11) advances to the championship game for the first time since 2003. The Bulldogs will play the winner of the game between Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Loyola, scheduled for later Saturday.

The championship will be Tuesday night, and will be hosted by Milwaukee if the Panthers win, or Butler if Loyola wins.

Aswan Minatee led the Phoenix (15-16) with 16 points.

Brandon Polk scored 17 points for Butler.

The Bulldogs used a 27-11 run to end the first half, taking a 48-23 halftime lead. They made 59 percent of their shots (16-27) while holding the Phoenix to 21 percent (9-28).

Butler scored the first four points of the second half and never was threatened. The Phoenix never came closer than 17 points, and the Bulldogs opened their biggest lead, 54-27, on Polk's two free throws with 14:32 left in the second half.

The Phoenix missed their first five shots, allowing Butler to open a 12-2 lead on Sheets' 3-pointer with 15:24 left in the first half.

It was the first game in seven days for Butler since Feb. 25 when they lost at Detroit, 73-71, denying the team a share of the conference title with the Panthers.

Wis.-Green Bay was playing its second game in two days after beating Illinois-Chicago, 76-66, in a quarterfinals game Friday night.