Nail-Biters Define Saturday in Men's Basketball

Through the first nine games of Horizon League men's basketball play, five games have come down to the final possession, with two going to overtime. Three of those came on Saturday, with two contests heading to overtime. In the end, Milwaukee, Cleveland State and Green Bay improved to 2-0 in conference play, with Valparaiso and Wright State collecting their first wins of the League season.

Valparaiso 77, Butler 71 (ot)
Valparaiso thought it had the game won in regulation, only to push past Butler in overtime for a 77-71 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Matt Kenney's three-pointer at the end of the second half broke a 64-64 tie, but officials ruled that it came after the buzzer, sending the game between Valparaiso (6-2, 1-0 Horizon) and Butler (4-4, 0-1 Horizon) into overtime.

The Bulldogs opened the extra frame with a layup from Roosevelt Jones, but Richie Edwards took over down low, using a bevy of low-post moves to foul out Butler's Kameron Woods on the Crusaders' opening possession. After free throws, it was Edwards who put Valpo ahead, 73-69, with 1:27 left after a fadeaway in the lane.

Ronald Nored, who had a career-high 17 points for Butler, would slash the deficit in half with two free throws, but Kenney finally struck the game-winning blow, catching the ball on the left wing and driving past the Bulldogs defender for a layup while being fouled in the process. Kenney's three-point play put the Crusaders ahead, 76-71, with 32 seconds to go in the game.

Nored's career-best effort came after Chrishawn Hopkins sat out much of the second half due to an apparent ankle injury; Woods posted his second straight double-double for the Bulldogs after a 10 point, 11 rebound effort. Jones finished with 10 points as well.

Ryan Broekhoff tallied his fourth double-double of the year with 13 points and 12 boards for Valpo, with four other Crusaders finishing in double figures. Edwards had a game-high 18, while Erik Buggs was consistenly able to get into the lane for 13 points. Will Bogan added 11 and Kevin Van Wijk 10 for the Crusaders, who won in Hinkle Fieldhouse for the first time since 1988.

Milwaukee 73, UIC 71 (ot)
Leading by 11 points with under five minutes to play, Milwaukee had to dodge two UIC attempts at the win in both regulation and overtime before collecting a 73-71 victory at U.S. Cellular Arena.

With the win, Milwaukee (7-1, 2-0 Horizon) equaled its best start since the 1992-93 season and is off to its best start as a Division I program.

After Kaylon Williams split a pair of free throws to send the game and a Ryan Allen block at the buzzer sent the game into overtime, it was Paris Gulley who struck the contest's decisive blow. With just under a minute to play, Gulley drained a three to put the Panthers ahead, 69-65.

Still, UIC (2-5, 0-2 Horizon) refused to go away, closing withing two points in the closing seconds. Gary Talton's running three-pointer at the buzzer hit the front iron, sending the Panthers to a 2-0 start in League play.

Talton was a key in UIC's comeback down the stretch, as the Flames used a combination of clutch shooting and poor Milwaukee shooting to force overtime. The Panthers were still up 58-53 with 50 seconds remaining but two missed free throws and a turnover led to UIC taking a 59-58 lead with 20.9 seconds left on two Paris Carter free throws. Williams made one free throw on the other end with 8.4 seconds left and then Allen blocked a shot attempt by Talton in the lane as time expired.

Kyle Kelm led Milwaukee with 18 points, while James Haarsma added 14. Williams, who was 2-for-9 from the free-throw line, finished with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Talton paced UIC with 18 points, while Carter came off the bench to post 14 points. Darrin Williams returned to the Flames' starting lineup, scoring 10 points.

#rv/rv Cleveland State 66, Detroit 61
Cleveland State completed a perfect start to the Horizon League season on the road for the second straight year, using timely baskets to get past Detroit, 66-61, on Saturday.

Cleveland State (8-1, 2-0 Horizon) worked through foul troubled in the game's first 20 minutes, with the bench stepping up for the Vikings throughout. With Jeremy Montgomery and Trey Harmon saddled with two fouls apiece, Ike Nwamu, Charlie Lee and Anton Grady shouldered the load, combining for 18 points in the first half as the Vikings took a seven-point lead into the locker room.

The game's final 20 minutes would see Cleveland State open a 14-point lead before Detroit (3-6, 0-2 Horizon) rally to close within a single possession in the game's last stretch. However, the Vikings' veterans would step up, with Montgomery draining a three to put Cleveland State up 63-57 with 2:17 to play. Montgomery scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

The Titans would come back once more, but Montgomery was able to drive the baseline and dish to Grady, who laid the ball in and was fouled. The three-point play with 1:18 to go all but sealed the result.

Grady finished the day with 11 points, with Montgomery and Tim Kamzcyc leading the Vikings with 12 points each. Doug Anderson had a game-high 17 points for Detroit, while Ray McCallum and Jason Calliste finished with 14 and 11, respecitvely.

Cleveland State held Detroit to 1-of-13 shooting from three-point range.

Wright State 63, Youngstown State 62
Trailing by 17 points in the first half, Wright State locked down defensively, rallying for a 63-62 win over Youngstown State at the Nutter Center.

With 7:14 to play in the first half, Wright State (3-5, 1-1 Horizon) found itself down by 17 points, but closed the gap to six points at the half, closing out on Youngstown State's (5-2, 1-1 Horizon) perimeter attack. The Penguins opened the game 8-for-10 from three-point range in building the lead, but went 3-for-17 the rest of the way.

Coming out of the locker room at the half, six straight points from Julius Mays would give the Raiders their first lead since early in the first half, 42-41, with 14:24 to play, and the teams would trade the lead six times before an Armond Battle layup put Wright State ahead, 59-57. After a defensive stop, AJ Pacher would give the Raiders their largest lead of the game, 62-57, with a corner three, but Youngstown State would have one more rally.

In a 48 second span, two Kendrick Perry free throws and a rattled home three from Blake Allen tied the game with 92 seconds to play.

Both teams traded missed opportunities, giving Wright State the game's last full possession. Mays was able to find Battle on the baseline, with Youngstown State fouling Battle as he went to the rim. The junior split the pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds left, giving Youngstown State one final chance at a 2-0 start to League play.

However, Damian Eargle's leaner at the buzzer hit the back of the rim and bounced away, evening both teams' League records at 1-1.

Mays once again led Wright State with a game-high 19 points, with Pacher adding 16 and Battle 13 off the bench. DuShawn Brooks paced Youngstown State's early attack, eventually finishing with 17 points. Allen chipped in 15 and Eargle 10.

Green Bay 57, Loyola 47
A dominant defensive effort helped Green Bay build an insurmountable lead in an eventual 57-47 win over Loyola at the Resch Center on Saturday night.

Green Bay (4-4, 2-0 Horizon) stayed unbeaten at home, turning a 6-3 lead into a 28-7 advantage over a 12 minute stretch of the first half. The Phoenix defense kept Loyola (1-6, 0-2 Horizon) to just two field goals in the span.

Leading 32-12 at the half, Green Bay extended its advantage to 23 points in the second half before Loyola closed to within seven points with 1:15 to play. Kam Cerroni would hit a leaner to push the Phoenix lead back to nine, and Alec Brown knocked down 4-of-5 free throws to help seal the result.

Brown finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks and was the lone Green Bay player in double figures. Brennan Cougill (nine points) and Cerroni keyed the Phoenix bench, which outscored Loyola, 19-5.

Walt Gibler led the Ramblers with 18 points, while Ben Averkamp added 14.