CHICAGO -- Butler build a 10-point halftime lead and hung down the stretch, picking up a 65-63 win over Loyola at the Gentile Center on Wednesday night, recording the lone victory among League teams on the evening. The decision put Butler into the Horizon League record books, as the Bulldogs tied Green Bay (1994-96) and Butler (2008-09) with their 21st consecutive mark in the League's win column.
Butler (4-2, 1-0 Horizon) knocked down 9-of-18 three-point attempts in the game, with Zach Hahn leading the way with a 3-of-4 effort from downtown. The senior matched Matt Howard for the team lead with 15 points, converting 4-of-5 free throws down the stretch to help the Bulldogs hold off a determined Loyola (7-1, 0-1 Horizon) squad.
The Ramblers trailed by as much as 11 with 7:01 to play, but Loyola kept pounding away, first on a three from Geoff McCammon. Down two possessions the remainder of the way, Loyola finally had a chance to tie with 24 seconds remaining, but Walt Gibler's three-pointer drew iron. A loose ball foul by Butler allowed the Ramblers to cut the deficit to a single point, 63-62, with 15 ticks on the clock, Hahn's final two free throws created another three-point lead for the Bulldogs.
Butler chose to foul with 7 seconds left rather than allowing a three-point attempt from Loyola; Courtney Stanley hit 1-of-2 free throws to create the game's final margin. Shelvin Mack found Andrew Smith all alone across the timeline with 3.3 seconds to finish the game.
Howard and Hahn were the lone Butler players to finish in double figures, with Howard adding seven rebounds.
McCammon led the way for Loyola with 14 points, while Andy Polka and Jordan Hicks posted 12 and 10 points, respectively.
In non-conference action, both Wright State and Detroit dropped identical 77-69 decisions to Cincinnati and Akron, respectively.
Traveling down I-75 to meet the BIG EAST foe, the Raiders shot 50 percent for the game, but the Bearcats were a touch better, knocking down 51 percent of their field goals to post the victory. Troy Tabler and Vaughn Duggins each finished with 18 points, and N'Gai Evans chipped in 17, but Sean Kilpatrick came off the bench to score 26 points for Cincinnati as five Bearcats finished with 10 or more points.
20 turnovers killed Detroit (4-4) in its loss to Akron. The defeat snapped a nine-game winning streak at Calihan Hall for the Titans against non-conference squads, as the Zips turned the miscues into 23 points.
Chase Simon scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half as Detroit tried to rally from a double-digit deficit, but the Titans ran out of time as foul trouble set in late in the contest.
