Six Horizon League Teams Head Into Holidays on High Note

Horizon League men's basketball teams went a collective 6-2 on Thursday evening, with Butler, Cleveland State, Detroit, Green Bay, Loyola and Wright State heading into the holiday on high notes.

Butler 71, #rv/rv Stanford 66
Ronald Nored scored a career high 18 points to lead Butler to its first road win of the season, 71-66, at Stanford. In the last six days, the Bulldogs have collected wins over two Power 6 programs.

Butler (6-7) trailed, 33-28, early in the second half before an 8-2 run by Nored vaulted the Bulldogs in front of the Cardinal, 36-35. The senior knocked down consecutive three-pointers and came away with a fast break layup during the stretch.

Three-pointers carried the Bulldogs midway through the half, as two threes from Jackson Aldridge were sandwiched around a Chrishawn Hopkins triple over a 5:01 stretch, staking Butler to a thin 50-49 lead. Aldridge would continue his tear with a conventional three-point play, giving Butler the lead for good, 53-50, with 7:01 to play.

After two Aldridge free throws, Stanford responded with a three to close within 59-55 and bring the Maples Pavilion crowd to its feet. With the shot clock winding down, Nored flung up a shot from his hip, draining his career-best third three to restore a seven-point lead. Stanford would close within four once more with just over a minute to play, but once again Butler would get a key bucket.

This time, Andrew Smith would save a ball back to the midcourt line, where Chase Stigall flung it towards the rim as the shot clock wound down. Missing the rim, it caromed directly into Smith's hands, and the junior laid the ball in to put the Bulldogs up, 66-60, with 51 seconds left. After a stop, Butler went 5-of-8 from the free throw line to seal the game.

Aldridge finished with 15, setting a new career high for the freshman. Smith added 10. With its first road win of the year, Butler handed Stanford its first home loss of the 2011-12 season.

Green Bay 63, Idaho 61
Brennan Cougill carried Green Bay past visiting Idaho, 63-61, at the Resch Center, matcting a venue record in the process.

With 19 points and 19 rebounds, Cougill tied the Resch Center record for rebounds, equaling the mark set on Jan. 18, 2003, by former Phoenix Greg Babcock. With Alec Brown limited to just 14 minutes due to foul trouble, Cougill picked up the slack, grabbing 16 of Green Bay's (6-6) 20 defensive rebounds on the night.

Cougill's dominance on the inside opened up the outside for the Phoenix's guards, with Steve Baker and Kam Cerroni being the primary beneficiaries. The duo combined to go 6-for-9 from three-point range. Baker finished with 13 points and Cerroni added 12. Green Bay shot 45 percent from three-point range, buoying an effort that saw the Phoenix go 11-for-34 from inside the arc.

Green Bay trailed midway through the second half, 43-38, before Cougill and Cerroni combined for the next seven points to knot the game at 45. Consecutive triples from Baker and Cerroni put the Phoenix ahead, 52-47, with 6:36 to play, and Cougill scored eight of Green Bay's nine points down the stretch to hold Idaho at bay.

Detroit 80, Alabama State 56
Detroit blitzed Alabama State in the second half, outscoring the Hornets, 40-22, on its way to an 80-56 victory at Calihan Hall.

Ray McCallum led Detroit (6-8) with 19 points, while Doug Anderson collected his second career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Nine of Anderson's boards came on the defensive glass, as the Titans held Alabama State to 13-for-34 shooting on the night.

Alabama State would draw as close as five points in the second half before an Eli Holman dunk ignited Detroit, with Anderson added two emphatic slams. The Titans would hold ASU to 15 points in the game's final 16:44. The Titans would lead by as much as 25 in the game's closing stages.

Detroit's defensive effort included eight blocks - seven of which came from LaMarcus Lowe (four) and Holman.

Wright State 60, Central Michigan 42
Wright State took control of the game with a 15-1 run late in the first half and cruised to a 60-42 victory over Central Michigan at the Nutter Center.

Trailing 19-17, Wright State (6-8) went on the game's decisive run, with Cole Darling, Reggie Arceneaux and John Balwigaire all knocking down three-pointers. Arceneaux was one of three Raiders to finish in double figures, finishing with 11 points and five assists.

Vance Hall led Wright State with 13 points, five of which came midway through the first half to help the Raiders fend off a quick start by Central Michigan. Wright State would lead by as many as 22 points in the second half, using a 16-3 burst midway through the second to seal the result.

Loyola 59, Canisius 45
Trailing midway through the second half, Loyola scored 10 straight points to take control of the game, pulling away for a 59-45 road win at Canisius.

With its fourth straight win of the year, Loyola improved to 5-7 on the year. Not coincidentally, Ben Averkamp eclipsed 20 points for the fourth consecutive game, finishing the evening with 22 points. Six of those helped the Ramblers take a 20-18 lead into the half as both teams struggled from the field.

Down 36-32 with 8:12 left in the game, Averkamp would knock down a jumper to ignite the game's decisive run, with Loyola opening a 42-36 lead. Down the stretch, the Ramblers were a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line, ending the evening 19-for-20.

Averkamp's 22 were supplemented by Walt Gibler's second double-double of the season; Gibler finished with 17 points and 12 boards. Defensively, Loyola held Canisius to 18-for-57 shooting on the night.

#rv/- Cleveland State 63, Sam Houston State 45
Rebounding from a disappointing loss on Monday night, Cleveland State returned to its stingy defensive ways in a 63-45 win over visiting Sam Houston State at the Wolstein Center.

Cleveland State (11-2) knocked down a season-high 10 three-pointers, shooting 53 percent behind the arc in improving to 4-0 at home.

With CSU leading 13-11 midway through the first half, the Vikings made their move, scoring five straight points to open an 18-11 lead. Sam Houston State closed back within five with 3:37 to play, but a three-pointer by D'Aundray Brown fueled a closing 11-4 run that saw the Vikings take a 37-25 lead into the locker room.

Sam Houston State would draw no closer than 10 points in the second half as Cleveland State led by as many as 23 points, 63-40, with 2:27 left in the game. Defensively, the Vikings locked down the Bearkats, holding them to 34 shots and 23 turnovers, which CSU turned into 27 points.

A balanced attack saw Brown lead the team with 12 points, while Jeremy Montgomery added 11. The Cleveland State bench scored 25 points.

Robert Morris 59, Youngstown State 56
Leading with under a minute to play, Youngstown State was stunned by two late Robert Morris three-pointers, dropping its first non-conference home game in nearly two years, 59-56, to Robert Morris.

Ashen Ward split a pair of free throws with 53 seconds to play, putting Youngstown State (6-6) up, 56-53, only to see Robert Morris knot the game at 56 with 40 ticks remaining. Able to take the clock nearly down to the end of regulation, the Penguins' last possession was thwarted by a rare Kendrick Perry turnover. Given one last chance at the win, Coron Williams drilled a three as the buzzer sounded.

Youngstown State lead, 55-48, with 4:03 to play, having held Robert Morris without a field goal for seven minutes. The Colonials would score the game's next five points to get back into the game and set up the dramatic final minute.

Perry led all scorers with 18 points, while DuShawn Brooks added 16 and Blake Allen 12.

#10/10 Marquette 64, Milwaukee 50
Milwaukee struggled from the field throughout the night, shooting just 26.7 percent in a 64-50 loss to crosstown rival Marquette.

Despite the rough shooting, Milwaukee (9-4) found itself down two, 27-25, late in the first half after four free throws from Ryan Allen and Tony Meier following a Marquette foul and technical. From there, however, Marquette went on a 10-1 run across the end of the first and beginning of the second half to open a 37-26 lead and take control of the game.

After a 7:28 field goal drought, the Panthers closed within 45-38 with 8:46 left, but the Golden Eagles responded once more with an 11-3 burst to seal the result.

Ryan Allen stuffed the box score for Milwaukee, leading the Panthers with 16 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks. Kaylon Williams added 11 points and Kyle Kelm rounded out the trio in double figures with 10.