Standings Bunch Again After Wild Saturday

After Thursday night, it appeared the Horizon League men's basketball standings may be beginning to sort itself out.  However, by the end of Saturday, the standings were just as muddled as they were entering the week.  Such is life in the Horizon League in 2010-11.

In the first of two nationally televised contests on the ESPN Family of Networks, Butler (15-9, 7-5 Horizon) snapped a three-game losing streak, digging deep to snap Cleveland State's (21-4, 10-3 Horizon) 15-game home winning streak, 73-61, on ESPN2.  Matt Howard scored 11 of his team-high 14 in the second half, including a pair of dagger three-pointers to help the Bulldogs pull away down the stretch.

The Vikings raced out to an early 16-8 lead, but Butler's balance helped them pull ahead at the half, 33-29.  Cleveland State responded in the opening minutes of the second half, grabbing a 36-35 advantage after two Jeremy Montgomery free throws.  In a contest featuring nine ties and seven lead changes, Andrew Smith gave the Bulldogs the lead for good with 12:34 to play.

Butler never led by more than two possessions until Howard's three from the wing put the Bulldogs ahead, 58-51, with 8:03 remaining.  The senior knocked down his third triple of the game to stretch the lead to 10, and with the shot clock running down and Butler up nine, Howard's high-arching three from the corner clinched the contest.  The First Team All-League pick finished with 14 points, one of five Bulldogs in double figures.

Andrew Smith added 13, while Shelvin Mack supplemented seven assists and six boards with 11 points.  Shawn Vanzant chipped in 10 and Khyle Marshall 12 off the bench.

Montgomery led the Vikings with 18, connecting on 4-of-5 attempts from three-point range.  Norris Cole posted 15 points, coming on 4-of-13 shooting.  Tim Kamczyc had 12 points, as Cleveland State's starters accounted for 56 of their 61 points.

Cleveland State's loss opened the door for Valparaiso (17-7, 9-3 Horizon) and Wright State (16-9, 9-4 Horizon), who closed within a half-game and full game, respectively, with victories on Saturday night.

The Raiders held off a spirited UIC (6-18, 1-11 Horizon) squad, 69-63, at the WSU Nutter Center.  A week after matching his career high with 26 points, Vaughn Duggins erased the mark, posting a career-high 28.  The senior capped the game's decisive 18-4 run with a three-point play as Wright State opened up a 37-24 halftime advantage.

Down 16 early in the second half, UIC rallied with a 12-1 run, closing within 47-42 before Wright State collected itself, reestablishing a double-figure advantage on a Johann Mpondo dunk that made the score 61-47 with 4:25 remaining.  Robo Kreps and Paul Carter would not let the Flames go down without a fight, however, as two threes by Kreps in the final minute forced the Raiders to knock down key free throws.

N'Gai Evans did just that, going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch to ensure the victory.  Evans complimented Duggins' output with 18 points.  Kreps posted 20 to lead UIC, while Carter turned in a double-double with 18 points and 11 boards.

After a Thursday loss at Cleveland State, Valparaiso finished the weekend in the same position in which they entered, surviving at Youngstown State (8-15, 2-11 Horizon), 86-78, in overtime.  The Crusaders lost a late four-point lead in the second half to reach overtime, but scored the last eight points of overtime to pull away for the victory.

Brandon Wood scored a season-best 31 points for Valpo, the most in a Horizon League game this season.  The junior scored 15 of his points in the second half, helping the Crusaders overcome a five-point halftime deficit.  Wood had four of the Crusaders' 12 points in a 12-2 spurt midway through the second half as Valpo knotted the contest, eventually building a 70-66 lead with five minutes to play.

Just as they did Thursday night, Youngstown State closed with a flurry, splitting three separate trips to the free-throw line to close the deficit to a lone point.  After Ryan Broekhoff went 1-for-2 at the line for the Crusaders, Kendrick Perry - the hero of Thursday night's win - beat the buzzer with a jumper to force the extra session.

The Penguins started overtime with a three from Ashen Ward, but the Crusaders used a Cory Johnson jumper and a three from Broekhoff around free throws to open a two-point lead with 1:53 to play.  Youngstown State went back to DuShawn Brooks to knot the contest, but Johnson answered with his seventh and eighth points of the night to give Valpo the lead for good.

Broekhoff and Howard Little each had 11 points for the Crusaders, with Matt Kenney adding 10 off the bench.  Vytas Sulskis posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards before fouling out in the extra frame, while Brooks posted 15 points, as did Kendrick Perry.  Ward finished with 11 for the Penguins, who head to Wright State for a Monday night conference clash.

Milwaukee (13-11, 8-5 Horizon) maintained its grip on fourth place in the League, flexing its muscle in an 88-75 win over in-state rival Green Bay (13-12, 6-6 Horizon) on ESPNU.  Anthony Hill recorded a double-double for the Panthers, controlling the paint with 29 points and 15 rebounds.  The senior just missed matching his career high in points, while his rebounding effort set a new career best.

Leading 33-26 at the intermission, Milwaukee exploded in the second half, rolling up 55 points as the team went 8-for-11 from three-point range and 25-of-31 from the charity stripe.

Three pointers from Tone Boyle and Kyle Kelm in the first two minutes of the second half helped the Panthers open a quick 44-26 advantage, with the lead growing to 54-36 on a Kyle Kelm tip-in with 13:48 remaining.  The Phoenix would not come closer than eight points the rest of the contest, as Meier and Boyle knocked down triples to counter a layup and three from Bryquis Perine, who was returning to his hometown.

The victory was the fourth straight for the Panthers, who now have the longest winning streak in the Horizon League after Cleveland State's loss.  Boyle finished with 16 points, while Ja'Rob McCallum added 15.  Kaylon Williams continued his strong play at the point with 11 points, seven assists and six caroms.

Perine led the Phoenix with 22 in his return to Milwaukee, while Rahmon Fletcher chipped in 16.  Jarvis Williams and Daniel Turner had 14 and 10, respectively, as Green Bay had just six bench points, shooting 23-percent in the opening half.

In the Horizon League Game of the Week, Detroit (13-12, 7-6 Horizon) found its stride at home, sweeping the weekend with an 81-71 victory over visiting Loyola (13-11, 4-9 Horizon) at Calihan Hall.  Less than 48 hours after posting a team-high 20 points, Chase Simon recorded a season-high 28-point effort to lead the Titans.

The victory brought Detroit within a game of fourth place in the jumbled League standings.  The Titans' resurgence over the weekend came with a renewed emphasis on sharing the ball, as Detroit finished with 16 assists on its 27 field goals after recording 18 assists on Thursday night.

Simon got the second half started with a three, but Loyola scored the next eight points of the frame, taking a brief one-point lead on an Andy Polka layup.  22 seconds later, another three - this one from Jason Calliste - put the Titans back ahead and they would not trail the rest of the way.  The Ramblers would close within a point one more time, but Chris Blake swung momentum back to Detroit with a three off a feed from Donavan Foster.

The three fueled a 9-2 run for Detroit, with Simon capping the burst with a triple, opening an 11-point advantage.  The Titans led by as many as 13 points before closing the game out from the free-throw line.

A trio of Titans had 10 points in support of Simon - Eli Holman, LaMarcus Lowe and Ray McCallum all finished in double figures.  Polka paced the Ramblers with a season-high 18, while Geoff McCammon added 15.  Ben Averkamp and Gabe Kindred posted 12 and 10 points, respectively for Loyola, who shot 39.1-percent for the game.