INDIANAPOLIS -- Horizon League teams recorded four more wins on Saturday, as #17/18 (AP/ESPN USA Today) Butler, Cleveland State, Green Bay and Loyola tallied victories.
Butler (1-0) added the coda to its historic run to the national championship game in April, hanging the banner from the 2010 Final Four prior to the tip-off of their game versus Marian. Once the game started, the Bulldogs ran away from Marian, 83-54. Shelvin Mack had a relatively easy 20 points, while Andrew Smith chipped in 10 points off the bench for Butler while Khyle Marshall added nine in his first collegiate game.
The game served as a tuneup for Tuesday night's road contest at Louisville, in which the Bulldogs will open the Yum! Center at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
In Green Bay, the Brian Wardle Era got off to an outstanding start, as the Phoenix's stifling defense held Minnesota-Duluth to just 35 points in a 76-35 rout. With a defensive emphasis, Green Bay (1-0) held the Bulldogs without a point in the first five minutes of the game, by which point the Phoenix led, 11-0. The 36 point defensive effort was the third-best in Green Bay history.
Rahmon Fletcher led all players with 16 points, while 7-foot-1 freshman Alec Brown added six blocks to help the Phoenix's defensive effort.
Cleveland State (2-0) moved closer to the title of the World Vision Classic with a 78-68 win over Iona on Saturday evening. The Vikings knocked down 22-for-23 from the free-throw line to overcome a fluid Iona attack. Norris Cole, who had 24 points in Friday night's win, led all scorers with 25 points, leading Cleveland State into the championship match of the tournament when they host Kent State Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
Trevon Harmon posted his first career double-double in the win, adding 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Like the Vikings, Loyola (2-0) will be competing for a tournament title on Sunday, following an 86-74 win over Indiana State in their second game of the Nick Kladis Classic. An evening after four players finished with 10 or more points, five Ramblers found their way into double figures versus the Sycamores, led by Jordan Hicks's 19 points.
The hot-shooting Ramblers knocked down 51.8-percent of their field goals, as Terrance Hill, Geoff McCammon, Ben Averkamp and Walt Gibler each cracked the 10-point mark.
Milwaukee suffered their second straight defeat of the early season, falling to Florida Atlantic, 85-76, in the Panthers second game of the AIA Classic in Portland, Ore. The Panthers were ultimately undone not by their defense, but by a 15-for-34 effort from the charity stripe. Tone Boyle and Anthony Hill led Milwaukee in scoring for the second straight night, posting 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Breaking in the newly renovated Pit, Detroit could not keep up with host New Mexico in a 63-54 loss. The much-ballyhooed debut of Ray McCallum was short circuited by early foul trouble, as he finished the evening with seven points. Eli Holman recorded a double-double for Detroit, leading the team with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Titans, who knocked down just 30.9-percent of their attempts from the floor and committed 22 turnovers.
New Mexico, two-time defending Mountain West champions, turned those turnovers into 20 points. The Titans were able to stay in the game by holding the Lobos to 39.6-percent shooting from the field.
League teams will contest four games on Sunday, beginning with the Cleveland State-Kent State showdown at 6 p.m. ET. Milwaukee will meet UC-Davis at the same time, while Loyola and Texas-Pan American will get together 30 minutes later. At 7 p.m. ET, Wright State will usher in the Billy Donlon Era, as the Raiders venture to Assembly Hall for a meeting with Indiana. That game can be seen on ESPNU and ESPN3.com.
