Butler, Loyola, Milwaukee Tally Victories on Saturday

INDIANAPOLIS -- #16/18 Butler, Loyola and Milwaukee all emerged victorious on Saturday night, giving the Horizon League six wins in nine contests on the weekend.

Returning to the friendly confines of Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler (2-1) dug in defensively, rolling past Ball State, 88-55, on Saturday afternoon.  The Bulldogs took command of the game midway through the first half with a 20-6 scoring run, as Shelvin Mack leading seven different Butler scorers during the run with four points.  On the game, Mack had 19 points.

Butler led by as much as 35 points and recorded their largest margin of victory since November 2008.

Loyola ventured outside the Gentile Center for the first time this season and had no problems improving to 5-0 after an 82-64 rout of Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich.  Jordan Hicks led the way for the Ramblers, scoring a season-high 21 points as Loyola moved to 5-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 campaign.

Riding the hot hands of Hicks, Terrance Hill and Ben Averkamp, Loyola took a 38-22 lead into the half, closing the final 6:50 on an 18-2 run after a Geoff McCammon triple broke a 20-20 tie.  The run was aided by opportunistic defense, as the Ramblers held the Broncos without a field goal over the last 5:46 of the first half.

The last Horizon League team to play a home game, Milwaukee made sure its fans got their money's worth, as Tone Boyle drained a fallaway 17-footer with 2.4 seconds to play to carry the Panthers past the Panthers of Northern Iowa, 65-63.  After two Northern Iowa free throws tied the game with 16 seconds to play, Boyle took the ball down the right wing, nearly lost the ball before crossing over to his left and draining the game-winning jumper.

Boyle had 12 points for Milwaukee, while Anthony Hill led the Panthers with 17.  Milwaukee owned a 40-29 rebounding edge, collecting 14 second-chance points off of 10 offensive boards.  Controlling the paint, the Panthers outscored Northern Iowa, 30-20, in the paint.

In the subregional of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, Green Bay raced out to a 22-point lead over #25/ARV San Diego State in the first nine minutes of the first half, but the Aztecs found their stride in the second half, defeating the Phoenix, 79-70, at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio.

Sophomore Troy Snyder had a career-high 17 points, but San Diego State gradually whittled away at the Green Bay lead, taking advantage of their interior size to get to the free throw line on a regular basis.  The Aztecs moved into the double-bonus at the 9:58 mark of the first half and used an 8-0 run coming out of the locker room to overcome a five-point Green Bay lead.

Youngstown State led by three as time ticked away late in regulation, but a fadeaway three at the horn sent the Penguins into overtime, where they fell to Akron, 91-84, in a battle of teams on I-76.

Four Penguins scored in double figures, led by Vytas Sulskis, who had 20 points.  Devonte Maymon and Ashen Ward each had 14, while Kendrick Perry added 11.

After Maymon gave Youngstown State a 77-74 lead with 27 seconds to play, Akron grabbed two offensive rebounds before Brett McClanahan drilled the game-tying three.  The Penguins took an early three-point lead in overtime, but the Rockets followed with an 8-0 run to take control of the game.

In Toledo, UIC's comeback fell short, as the Flames dropped a 78-66 contest to the College of Charleston in the subregional of the 2k Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer.

Robo Kreps scored 17 of his season-best 26 points in the second half, helping UIC erase an 18-point first-half deficit.  Starting the second half on a 24-13 run, UIC closed to within a bucket at the 10:29 mark, but would come no closer after the Cougars answered with a three on their next offensive possession.

Paul Carter added 17 points for the Flames, his third straight double-digit scoring effort.