Butler Holds off Ball State in Wednesday Men's Hoops Action
Dec. 23, 2004
Butler 74, Ball State 68
INDIANAPOLIS-Freshman A.J. Graves scored a career-high 29 points and junior Avery Sheets added 14 to lead Butler to a 74-68 victory over visiting Ball State in a non-league showdown at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday. The win, Butler's second straight, lifted the Bulldogs to 5-3 on the season and snapped the Cardinals' (5-3) three-game winning streak. Graves turned in the best performance of his young career, hitting 10 of 15 shots from the floor and eight of eight from the charity stripe. He handled the ball for a career-high 36 minutes against Ball State's pressure defense, and committed just one turnover. The first-year guard scored Butler's final eight points from the free throw line to stymie Ball State's comeback attempt. The Bulldogs looked like they might run away with the game in the first half, opening a 37-22 halftime lead. But the second half was a different story. Ball State came out in a fullcourt press and chipped away at the Bulldogs' lead. The visitors closed to within four points on two occasions in the final minute, but Graves answered with two free throws each time.
Box Score
#2/2 Kansas 73, UW-Milwaukee 62
KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Second-ranked Kansas made nine of its final 12 free throw attempts to hold of a gritty effort by UW-Milwaukee and claim a 73-62 win Wednesday night in the Yellow Book Shootout at Kemper Arena. The Jayhawks (8-0) needed every one of those free throws, as the Panthers (6-3) held them without a field goal for the final 8:21 of the game and were as close as seven points in the final 76 seconds. Ed McCants regained his shooting touch in leading UWM with a career-high 26 points, while Adrian Tigert added 13 points and nine rebounds. Keith Langford led the Jayhawks with 21 points, but Kansas could never shake UWM in a spirited contest played in front of 17,843. The Jayhawks used a late first-half run to grab a 42-29 halftime lead and a Langford three on the first possession of the half made it 45-29. But UWM quickly responded, scoring 13 of the next 16 points to pull within 48-42 with 16:05 to play and it was a game the rest of the way.
Box Score
UT-Pan American 77, Wright State 59
EDINBURG, Texas-Wright State had a four-point halftime lead and was up by as much as nine in the second half, only to see the UT-Pan American Broncos dominate play down the stretch for a 77-59 decision at the UTPA Fieldhouse Wednesday night. Down 15-5 early, WSU used a 22-6 run, six coming from Zakee Boyd and five from Zach Williams, to take a 27-21 lead. The Raiders were still up 36-32 at the break and looked to be in control as a Jordan Pleiman layup made it 52-43 with 14:08 remaining. It would be all UTPA from there, however, as the Broncos outscored WSU 34-7 the rest of the way, 10 coming from Ray Castillo and nine by Chris Fagan. UTPA shot 60 percent from the field the final 20 minutes compared to just 33 percent for the Raiders. DaShaun Wood led Wright State with 16 points and six assists, while Boyd had 14, Drew Burleson 12 and Williams nine points and eight rebounds.
Box Score
