Horizon League Notches 7-3 Record in Sears BracketBusters X

Men’s Basketball Scoreboard
Friday, Feb. 17:
Loyola Marymount 61, Valparaiso 53

Saturday, Feb. 18:
Drexel 69, Cleveland State 49
Detroit 82, James Madison 70
Butler 75, Indiana State 54
Green Bay 54, Eastern Michigan 49
Milwaukee 67, Fairfield 63
Wright State 75, UMKC 62
UIC 67, Eastern Illinois 63
Austin Peay 71, Youngstown State 68

Opening the Sears BracketBusters X with losses in two nationally televised games, Horizon League men’s basketball teams rebounded to notch seven wins in the BracketBusters, recording one of the top winning percentages among conferences fully invested in the events.

Drexel 69, Cleveland State 49
Trey Harmon scored a game-high 23 points, but Drexel used a strong run to start the game and earned a 69-49 win over Cleveland State.

Harmon, who scored a career-high 27 points on Tuesday night in Milwaukee, hit five three-pointers, one shy of tying his career-high. It also moved him within one three-pointer of becoming the third player in school history to make 200 trifectas in a career.

CSU fell to 20-8 overall, while Drexel won for the 15th straight time, improving to 23-5.

The Dragons came into the game ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense and held CSU to .270 (17-63) shooting from the field and .250 (7-28) from three-point.

Drexel raced out to a quick 19-3 lead less than eight minutes into the game, hitting six of its first eight shots from the field. On the other end, the Vikings made just one of their first 10 field goals.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Jeremy Montgomery and Harmon cut the CSU deficit to eight points (23-15) with 6:12 left in the first half, but seven straight points from the Dragons built the lead back to 15 points (30-15) with 4:13 to play.

The lead would remain double figures the rest of the afternoon.

Detroit 82, James Madison 70
Behind a solid team effort and blistering shooting in the first half, host Detroit defeated James Madison, 82-70 at Calihan Hall. The Titans made 15 of their first 19 shots to help open an 18-point first-half lead but had to fend off the Dukes to etch the win.

Momentum certainly rests comfortably on the side of the Titans.  Winners of five straight and 10 of their last 12, Detroit has shrugged-off a 1-4 start to the league season to post a 10-3 record since the turn of the calendar year.

It took little to get momentum started in Saturday's win as the Detroit seniors tallied the first 14 Titan points to help the home team build a quick five-point cushion.  The last six in that run came from senior Donavan Foster, making his first start of the season.  He made good on three straight free throws and followed it up on the next trip with a three-pointer.

All of this happened with the Titans' leading scorer on this day – Jason Calliste -- resting on the bench, giving way to seniors to start the game.  He made up for lost time steadfastly, going 3-3 from deep and 4-4 from the free-throw line for 13 first-half points.  His third three came with 6:00 left in the half and Detroit enjoyed an 18-point margin before settling for a 45-38 lead at the break.

The second half had an inauspicious beginning with Detroit mustering just one Eli Holman field goal in the first 6:30 and the Dukes pulled even at 49-apiece. A.J. Davis, who led all scorers with 26 points, briefly gave the Dukes the lead with a free throw, but JMU managed to only re-tie the score two more times before a Foster trifecta put Detroit ahead for good.

The final tally had eight Titans with at least six points.  Calliste's 19 led the way, followed by a dozen from Foster and 10 apiece by LaMarcus Lowe, Doug Anderson and Evan Bruinsma. Chase Simon added eight points and five assists while Ray McCallum handed-out seven assists with seven points and five rebounds.

Butler 75, Indiana State 54
Five Bulldogs scored in double-figures as the Butler men's basketball team picked up a commanding 75-54 win over Indiana State in front of a sold-out Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The win lifted Butler to 17-12 on the year and clinched a seventh consecutive winning season for the Bulldogs.Butler never trailed en route to winning its fourth consecutive game.

Freshman forward Roosevelt Jones notched his third double-double of the season, tying teammate and fellow freshman Kameron Woods for the most double-doubles by a freshman in Butler men's basketball history. Jones finished with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Senior guard Ronald Nored dished out a career-high 10 assists in the Bulldogs' winning effort.

Nored was one of several catalysts for Butler's impressive offensive performance. The Bulldogs shot a blistering 45 percent from the field, while shooting 8-for-20 from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs broke a 2-2 tie with five consecutive points from Nored and then stretched their lead to 15, 23-8, on the strength of a 16-6 run. Five different Butler players contributed to the run, with sophomore Erik Fromm leading the way with seven points.

But Indiana State (16-12) battled back and trimmed Butler's lead to four, 30-26, on a three-point field goal by R. J. Mahurin with just over three minutes remaining in the first half.

That was close as the Sycamores would come. Butler finished the first half with a 7-1 run to take a 37-27 halftime lead, and the Bulldogs maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half.

Andrew Smith topped the Bulldogs with 12 points, while Fromm and Chrishawn Hopkins joined Jones with 11 points. Khyle Marshall chipped in with 10 points. Mahurin led all scorers with 22 points.

Green Bay 54, Eastern Michigan 49
Confronted by an opponent playing at a completely opposite tempo to its preferred pace, Green Bay found a way to get past visiting Eastern Michigan, 54-49, at the Resch Center.

Green Bay (12-14) won its fifth game in the last seven and improved to 11-2 at the Resch Center.

Kam Cerroni and Keifer Sykes scored 10 points apiece to lead the Phoenix.

After Eastern Michigan scored the first four points of the game, Green Bay pushed back to tie the score at 10 on a layup by sophomore Alec Brown. The bucket started a 10-3 run that put Green Bay ahead to stay, 18-13.

Brown had five points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots at the half on his way to a nine-point, 13-rebound, four-block effort. The 7-foot-1 sophomore is now averaging 13.7 points, eight rebounds and three blocks per game.

The lead reached 10 points on two occasions in the second half, the first time when Steve Baker drained a three-pointer to make it 34-24. Baker finished with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists off the Green Bay bench.

The Phoenix lead fluctuated between three and 10 over the course of the next 13 minutes, with Eastern Michigan answering every Green Bay run.

Cerroni hit a three-pointer to make it 50-42 with 2:54 remaining, but the Eagles' Darrell Lampley scored five-straight points to cut the margin to three with 1:50 to play. Cerroni made two three-pointers and has now made a three in 15 consecutive games.

After an empty possession for both teams, Sykes drained two free throws with 31 seconds left to push Green Bay's lead to 52-47. EMU hit a pair of free throws on the other end before Brown stepped up to extend the lead to the final margin with a pair of free throws with 21 seconds remaining.

Milwaukee 67, Fairfield 63
Paris Gulley scored 19 points and Tony Meier added 18 as Milwaukee overcame a flu-ravaged roster to claim a 67-63 win over Fairfield at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The Panthers (17-12) led by as many as 18 points but needed to pull the win out at the end.

UWM was minus three players, as starter James Haarsma along with reserves Ryan Haggerty and Christian Wolf were at home with the flu. Kaylon Williams was also battling the same bug and did not start but collected 10 assists in 29 minutes off the bench.

Gulley put Milwaukee ahead for good on a follow-up basket with just over two minutes remaining and UWM's defense did enough from there to give the Panthers their 12th home win of the season.

Williams, who missed his pregame Senior Day ceremony to get an IV in the locker room, ran the Panther offense extremely well when on the floor.

Fairfield's comeback from 18 down was capped by a three from Ryan Olander with three minutes remaining, putting the Stags ahead 61-60. Shaquille Boga, who started for the first time in his collegiate career, responded with a pair of free throws on Milwaukee's next offensive possession, putting the Panthers back ahead 62-61 with 2:42 left. Fairfield struck back one more time, going ahead 63-62 on its next possession, but Gulley answered on the other end.

Harris then drew an offensive foul and UWM would not let Fairfield score again. Williams converted on a drive at the other end to push Milwaukee's lead to 66-63 with 1:20 left and Meier eventually sealed the win with a single free throw with 3.4 seconds remaining.

Milwaukee had steadily built a lead over the first 20 minutes. UWM used a 7-0 run to go up 13-6 and then pushed the lead to 21-13 on a basket by Meier with 8:05 left. The advantage grew to 24-15 on a three-point play by Kyle Kelm just over a minute later and then a pair of threes from Gulley extended the lead to 30-15. UWM led 30-16 at the half.

A Gulley three to start the second half made it 33-16 and UWM eventually went up 41-23 on a three-pointer by Meier with 15 minutes remaining. The advantage was still 55-40 on a layin by Williams with 8:35 remaining but Fairfield started its big comeback from there. A follow-up basket by Olander brought the Stags to within single digits at 57-49 and two-straight steals that led to points brought Fairfield within two at 60-58. The teams then traded the lead on the next four possessions, with Gulley's follow-up basket sparking the Panthers for their final surge.

Wright State 76, UMKC 62
Wright State shot 65 percent in the first half and 58 percent overall as the Raiders rolled to a 76-62 BracketBusters win at UMKC Saturday afternoon.

The lead was just one at 20-19 with 7:40 remaining in the first half before WSU went on a 20-5 run over the next six minutes, a run that saw five different Raiders score.  The Kangaroos hit back-to-back three to cut the margin to 10 before a Julius Mays last-second jumper gave Wright State a 42-30 halftime lead.

Wright State (13-16)  hit 17 of 26 shots in the first half for 65 percent, including six of eight from three-point range, while UMKC shot 55 percent and was four of eight from behind the arc.

UMKC (10-19) closed to within seven on three different occasions to start the second half, but an 8-0 burst pushed the lead up to 58-43 with 11:37 to play and the Raiders enjoyed a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

The Raiders shot 47 percent the final 20 minutes to end up at 58 percent overall and made 14-of-17 free throws on the night, including 12-of-14 in the second half. UMKC, meanwhile shot 37 percent in the second half to finish at 45 percent.

Mays led all scorers with 25 points while three other Raiders were in double figures as Johann Mpondo had 14 and Kendall Griffin and Cole Darling 11 each off the bench.

UIC 67, Eastern Illinois 63
Having seen a late lead dwindle to a single points, Daniel Barnes drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key with 4.7 seconds remaining to give the UIC men's basketball a valuable two-possession lead, and the Flames defeated Eastern Illinois, 67-63, at Lantz Arena.

With the win, UIC improved to 8-18 on the season, surpassing its entire win total from the 2010-11 campaign. The Flames also improved to 8-1 all-time in BracketBusters contests.

Gary Talton led all scorers with 20 points, going 7-for-14 from the field. He was joined in double figures by Barnes (14 points), Hayden Humes (14) and Paris Carter, who came off the bench to chip in 10 points.

Even though the Flames held a one-point lead before Barnes hit the late three, it still proved to be the play of the game. Eastern Illinois had trimmed UIC's lead from 11 points (64-53) to just one (64-63) over a 3:05 span down the stretch, including three-straight momentum changing field goals in the final 1:52. Barnes' three was contested as the shot clock winded down, and after going through, it virtually eliminated the comeback bid for EIU.

The Flames came out firing, converting eight-of their first 10 field goal attempts to open a commanding 19-6 lead just over seven minutes (12:59) into the game -- Humes, Talton, Darin Williams, Barnes and Marc Brown all had field goals in the stretch. UIC held onto its double-digit advantage for the ensuing 4:23, before EIU pulled back within nine, 23-14, after a conventional three-point play by Joey Miller.

After a layup by Humes with 4:51 left in the half, UIC built its lead back to 14 points (31-17). But the Panthers finished the frame on a 7-0 run over the final 3:28, pulling within seven, 33-26, heading into the locker room at halftime.

Both teams traded baskets in the early stages of the second half, and at the first media timeout (14:57), UIC maintained a five-point edge, 37-32. Over the ensuing 2:32, the Flames went on a convincing 10-2 run, and extended their lead back to 13 points, 47-34 - Humes capped off the spurt with a three-pointer from the left wing.

EIU made its final push over the last 3:45, after the Flames built the aforementioned 11-point lead (64-53). The Panthers scored 10-straight points bolstered by field goals by Austin Akers, L.C. Doss and Granger. Doss' three-pointer with 40 seconds remaining pulled the Panthers within one-point (64-63) for the first time since the 18:24 mark of the first half. UIC used nearly all 35 seconds of its last possession, before Barnes put the game out of reach with the three from the top of the key.

Loyola 56, Bradley 44
Ben Averkamp recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and Loyola held host Bradley to 33 percent shooting in a 56-44 victory at Carver Arena.

The win is the Ramblers' fifth in a row versus non-conference competition and is their second straight win at Bradley.

Both teams struggled at the offensive end of the floor in the first half in a back-and-forth battle. A basket by Jake Eastman with 11:28 remaining in the period gave the Braves a 14-10 lead before Loyola countered with six unanswered points. Jordan Hicks’ jumper from the baseline gave the Ramblers a 16-14 edge before Bradley responded with six straight points of its own to reclaim the lead.

Loyola (7-19) closed out the period by holding Bradley to one field goal and five total points in the final 6:29 and Averkamp's lay-up with 1:12 left in the half gave the Ramblers a 23-22 advantage at the break, just their sixth lead after the opening 20 minutes this season.

The Ramblers used a stifling defensive effort to hold the Braves without a three-point field goal in eight tries in the second half after they had knocked down 4 of 10 from beyond the arc in the opening period. Loyola forced 10 Bradley turnovers in the second half alone.

Hicks' lay-up at the 17:06 mark opened up a 10-0 Rambler run over the next two and a half minutes as Loyola built a 35-26 lead. Bradley wouldn't go away quietly and scored seven unanswered points to get within 35-33, but Averkamp's lay-up with 10:58 remaining ignited a 9-2 run that featured five points from Chum Kadima.

Bradley would get no closer than five points the rest of the way and the Ramblers would hold the Braves without a field goal for over seven minutes in the game's final 7:50.

In addition to his 19 points and 10 boards, Averkamp handed out five assists and had two blocks to lead Loyola, which played without Walt Gibler, the team's second-leading scorer. Joe Crisman added 10 points for the Ramblers, who also got eight points apiece from Hicks, Kadima and Christian Thomas.

Austin Peay 71, Youngstown State 68
A late cold spell sent Youngstown State to a 71-68 loss to former Ohio Valley rival Austin Peay on Saturday evening.

Youngstown State (14-13) led by as many as eight points in the second half, but a 4:24 stretch of scoreless basketball saw the Penguins lose a 52-49 lead and find themselves down, 57-52 before a Shawn Amiker Jr. layup stopped the skid.

However, the Penguins would not lead the remainder of the game and could not quite get over the hump in their comeback effort.

With 1:07 remaining, Youngstown State found itself down, 66-60, but Blake Allen sliced the deficit in half with a three before a Kendrick Perry steal and jumper brought the Penguins within a single point with 19 seconds on the clock.

Jerome Clyburn would split a pair of free throws for Austin Peay (10-19), giving Youngstown State a chance to tie or take the lead, but TyShawn Edmonson would come away with a steal and hit two free throws to make the gap four points.

Perry would do his best, draining a three to make it 69-68 with five ticks left, but Josh Terry would hit two freebies and Youngstown State could not get off an attempt at a game-tying three in the final seconds.

Youngstown State led for the first 29:57 of the game, taking an early 10-point lead, 18-8, as the combination of Perry and Damian Eargle dominated for the Penguins. Eargle scored eight of his 14 points in the opening stretch, while Perry added the final five points of the burst.

The Penguins would take a five-point lead into the half, assuming a 50-42 edge after an Allen three with 12:52 remaining, but YSU would go cold from that point, allowing the Govs to gain control of the game.

Perry finished with 20 points, while Eargle added 10 boards to collect a double-double. Allen had 10 for the Penguins, while DuShawn Brooks chipped in 13.