Records, Buzzer-Beaters Define Saturday

INDIANAPOLIS -- Butler set a new Horizon League record, while Wright State and Milwaukee each used buzzer-beating shots en route to win on Saturday afternoon.  Loyola and Cleveland State each cruised to victories as well.

#rv/rv Butler (10-4, 2-0 Horizon) led by as much as 19 and held off a Valparaiso (10-5, 2-1 Horizon) charge midway through the second half en route to a 76-59 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse.  With the triumph, the Bulldogs claimed their 22nd straight Horizon League victory, breaking the old mark of 21, shared by Green Bay (1994-97) and Butler (Jan. 18, 2008-Jan. 30, 2009).

A balanced effort helped Butler overcome a career-best 14 points from the Crusaders' Jay Harris; Shelvin Mack led the way with 16 points, while Ronald Nored added 11 for the Bulldogs, who used back-to-back three pointers from Zach Hahn to open up what had become a five-point game midway through the second half.

In Dayton, a back-and-forth contest was concluded when Vaughn Duggins hit a step-back triple as time expired, lifting Wright State (9-6, 2-1 Horizon) to a 67-64 win over Green Bay (6-9, 1-3 Horizon).

The Phoenix took a 59-56 lead on a Rahmon Fletcher jumper with 2:34 to go, but the Raiders answered with six straight points from the free-throw line to assume a three-point edge with 86 ticks left.  Bryquis Perine came back to close the game to one before Troy Tabler came through with scoop in the lane to put the Raiders up three late.

A three-pointer from Kaylon Williams lifted Milwaukee (7-8, 2-2 Horizon) into overtime and the Panthers capitalized, claiming an 84-81 victory over host Detroit (8-7, 2-1 Horizon).  In a back-and-forth affair, the Titans led by as many as eight points and the Panthers were up by as many as seven.

Late, it was Detroit up until Williams nailed a 30-footer with 1.1 seconds left on the clock to force the extra session.

Ray McCallum scored 20 points but missed a 30-footer at the buzzer for Detroit.  Milwaukee wound up with five players in double figures. Williams had a season-high 17 points while Ja'Rob McCallum added 15.  Tony Meier had 11 points and eight rebounds and Lonnie Boga pitched in with 10 points.

Both Loyola (10-5, 1-3 Horizon) and #rv/- Cleveland State (15-1, 4-0 Horizon) cruised to victories on Saturday.  After an 18-point drubbing on Thursday, the Ramblers rebounded with a 30-point pasting of Youngstown State (6-7, 1-3 Horizon).

Shooting a season-high 61 percent from the field, the Ramblers snapped a six-game losing streak in regular-season Horizon League action.  Loyola used a hot start to claim the win, hitting 6 of their first 9 shots, as Ben Averkamp and Walt Gibler combined for 10 of the team's first 12 points.

On his way to 13 points, Averkamp was nearly unstoppable in the opening period, hitting 6-of-7 tries from the field, with his lone miss coming from beyond the arc.

At the Wolstein Center, a career-high 24 points from Trevon Harmon and 21 from Norris Cole carried Cleveland State to an 83-59 win over visiting UIC (5-10, 0-3 Horizon).  The Vikings were locked in defensively once again, forcing 24 UIC turnovers (to CSU's six), stealing the ball 15 times.

Paul Carter tallied his fourth double-double of the season for the Flames, collecting 11 points and 10 boards, while Robo Kreps climbed to 10th on the UIC all-time scoring list with a team-high 21 points.