Men’s Basketball Scoreboard (Feb. 14)
Butler 63, Loyola 57
Green Bay 71, Youngstown State 65
Valparaiso 74, UIC 65
Milwaukee 86, Cleveland State 84
Valentine’s Day left four teams crestfallen, while increasing the pressure on all 10 Horizon League men’s basketball teams in the final 11 days of the regular season as Butler, Green Bay, Valparaiso and Milwaukee all emerged with victories.
Butler 63, Loyola 57
Looking to keep alive its chances at a bye in the Horizon League Tournament, Butler lost a 13-point lead midway through the second half but held off Loyola down the stretch, 63-57, at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Butler (16-12, 10-6 Horizon) won its third straight conference game and moved into sole possession of third place in the Horizon League, one game behind Cleveland State and a half-game in front of Detroit, who plays tomorrow.
Chrishawn Hopkins led four teammates in double-figures and hit one of the game's biggest shots in the closing minutes. With 2:19 on the clock, the Bulldogs clinging to a two-point lead, 51-49, and the shot clock running down, Hopkins pulled up from beyond the three-point arc on the left side and drained a shot that gave Butler a five-point advantage. Loyola (6-19, 1-14 Horizon) never got closer in the final two minutes.
Fellow sophomore Khyle Marshall followed with a layup off a lob from Ronald Nored to stretch Butler's margin to seven, 56-49, and the Bulldogs held off Loyola by hitting seven of 10 free throws in the final minute.
Loyola recovered from a 13-point deficit late in the first half to challenge the Bulldogs down the stretch. The Ramblers scored the final six points of the first half to cut Butler's halftime margin to 36-29, and then out-scored the Bulldogs, 15-8, in the first 12 minutes of the final period to tie the game at 44-44.
Ben Averkamp had nine of his game-high 23 points in the run, lifting Loyola into the tie with two free throws with 7:52 remaining. After Andrew Smith restored Butler’s lead by splitting a pair of free throws, Chim Kadima missed a jumper that would have given the Ramblers their first lead of the game.
Instead, Hopkins was fouled on Butler’s subsequent possession, setting the stage for the Bulldogs to hold on down the stretch.
Averkamp was the lone Rambler in double figures, while Marshall (12), Smith (12) and Erik Fromm (10) joined Hopkins (13) for Butler.
Green Bay 71, Youngstown State 65
In a seesaw affair, it was Green Bay who made enough plays down the stretch, knocking off Youngstown State, 71-65, at the Resch Center.
Green Bay (11-14, 7-8 Horizon) kept alive its fledgling hopes of a home game in the League Tournament, while Youngstown State (14-12, 9-7 Horizon) failed to keep pace with Butler in the race for third place in the League, dropping out of what had been a three-way tie for third at the beginning of the day.
Trailing by a point at the half, Green Bay shot 60.9 percent in the second half as Brennan Cougill and Keifer Sykes each notched double-doubles. Cougill was 6-for-9 from the floor, tying for team-high honors with 17 points while adding 11 rebounds.
Sykes, who has put forth All-Newcomer Team numbers since the start of conference play, matched Cougill with 17 points, adding 10 assists without committing a turnover as he recorded his first career double-double.
It was the first time in nearly three years that a Green Bay player had recorded 10 or more assists and the first time in over 5 years that a Phoenix player had 10 assists in a Horizon League game.
The duo shared the wealth down the stretch, as Green Bay fought back a determined Youngstown State squad.
After a Sykes layup pushed Green Bay’s lead to 61-58, Youngstown State turned to its hot hand, Blake Allen, and the sophomore delivered with a clutch step-back three-pointer to knot the game with 1:47 remaining.
However, Sykes would find Cougill on the left wing, and the big man knocked down his second three of the game to blunt the Penguins’ momentum. Defensively, Green Bay forced a turnover, and on the next Phoenix possession, it was Cougill finding Sykes at the elbow for a jumper, extending Green Bay’s advantage to 66-61 with 40.6 left.
The Phoenix would salt the game away at the free throw line, going 5-of-6 in the final 23 seconds.
Allen led all scorers with 23 points, connecting on 4-of-8 attempts from three-point range. He was joined by Kendrick Perry, who had 17 points.
For Green Bay, Alec Brown added 14 points and nine rebounds and senior Steve Baker scored 11 points off the bench.
Valparaiso 74, UIC 65
Trailing by 10 points at the half and in danger of letting the field back into the chase for the Horizon League regular season title, Valparaiso dialed up the three-pointers to overcome UIC, 75-65, at the ARC.
Valparaiso (19-9, 12-4 Horizon) reduced its magic number to clinch the Horizon League regular season title to one. A win in next Wednesday’s game with Loyola would give the Crusaders the No. 1 seed and the right to host the tournament through its conclusion.
UIC (7-18, 3-13 Horizon) received a combined 43 points from Hayden Humes, Gary Talton and Darrin Williams, but could not slow a Valparaiso scoring effort that saw the Crusaders explode for 47 points in the second half.
The Flames jumped all over Valparaiso to start the game, shooting 51.7 percent from the field with five three-pointers. While the teams felt each other out over the first 12 minutes, a steal by Talton and dunk by Dorian Tyler jumpstarted a 14-4 burst to end the half, sending UIC into the locker room with a 37-27 edge.
Humes and Talton combined for 10 points in the spurt, which was capped off by Humes drilling a three-pointer from the top of the key with only 28 seconds remaining.
However, back-to-back threes by Ben Boggs and Ryan Broekhoff quickly pulled Valpo back within two possessions, 40-34, early in the second half, but UIC still held a nine-point edge (43-34) at the first media timeout of the frame. But Jay Harris would hit two threes in a 1:18 span that erased a five-point deficit, and eventually gave Valpo its first lead, 48-47, of the second half.
UIC re-gained a two-point advantage, 53-51, with 8:21 remaining after Talton’s second three, but Valpo responded with a 7-0 run over the ensuing 1:50, and claimed a 58-53 lead on a three from Matt Kenney that it would not relinquish.
The Flames pulled within four points on four occasions in the final 4:38, but could draw no closer. The Crusaders out-scored UIC 47-28 in the second half, shooting a blistering 72.2 percent (13-for-18) from the floor, drilling eight threes as Kenney and Harris hit two apiece.
With Broekhoff held to nine points, Richie Edwards stepped up for the third straight game, leading all scorers with 19 points, 13 coming in the second half. Kevin Van Wijk returned to the lineup after suffering a knee injury last Thursday, finishing with 11 points. Kenney added 14 points off the bench.
Humes and Talton each had 15 to lead UIC, while Williams came off the bench to post 13.
Milwaukee 86, Cleveland State 84
In a wild finish at U.S. Cellular Arena, it was Milwaukee who snapped a two-game losing skid while extending Cleveland State’s misery after an 86-84 victory.
Milwaukee (16-12, 9-7 Horizon) saw a 16-point lead melt away over the final 12:35, but collected the victory after a wild scramble left the Panthers with the ball and 1.9 ticks left in a tie game.
Catching the ball on the left wing, Tony Meier launched to square up and was fouled; the senior hit his first two free throws before missing the third. Anton Grady’s heave at the horn came up short, sending Cleveland State (20-7, 10-5 Horizon) to its third straight loss.
For most the game, it appeared as if Milwaukee’s three-point shooting would carry the day, as James Haarsma led Milwaukee with a collegiate-high 25 points and was one of five Panthers in double figures. Haarsma knocked down five three-pointers as the Panthers went 13-for-28 from three-point range.
Paris Gulley was one behind Haarsma, hitting four triples to finish with 17, while Meier knocked down three in ending the night with 15 points. Kaylon Williams had 12 points and seven assists, the final one going to Kyle Kelm on an alley-oop, making him Milwaukee’s Division I career assists leader.
A three by Gulley extended the lead to 12 early in the second half and the Panthers eventually went up 67-51 on a pair of Kelm free throws with 12:37 left. Milwaukee again pushed the lead to 16 at 75-59 after two-straight threes by Gulley, but that's where the Cleveland State comeback started. A three-point play by Aaron Pogue made it 77-69 with 5:35 left and then a basket by Grady brought the Vikings to within 81-76 with 2:25 remaining.
Continuing to press, Cleveland State collected a turnover, and used two Grady free throws to draw within 83-80 with 79 seconds remaining. Gulley would split a pair of free throws, but Charlie Lee drove the lane to cut the deficit in half with 52 ticks left.
Milwaukee’s 14th turnover of the night gave Cleveland State a chance to tie, and Jeremy Montgomery took advantage with a runner in traffic to knot the game with 40.6 seconds remaining.
Holding for the last possession, Williams drove and bank shot came off the rim, and the senior missed the follow-up before the scramble for the ball gave possession to the Panthers.
Milwaukee rode its offensive performance to a nine-point halftime lead. The teams traded the lead in the early going but the Panthers surged ahead 31-27 on a pair of Meier free throws with 6:55 remaining. Threes from Haarsma and Williams extended the lead to 39-33 and a pair of free throws from Haarsma made it 43-33.
Cleveland State, which shot better than 65 percent in the first half, crawled back to within 43-39 on two-straight three-pointers, but Milwaukee made its own surge back and led 48-39 when Meier buried a three in transition. The Panthers then led 50-41 at the break.
Milwaukee, who entered the game shooting less than 60 percent from the foul line, converted 33-of-40 from the charity stripe.
Meanwhile, Cleveland State shot nearly 61 percent from the field and made 20 free throws but still came up short in dropping its third-straight.
Trevon Harmon had 27 points to lead the Vikings, while Montgomery added 15. Lee, returning to his native Milwaukee, had 14 off the bench, with Grady chipping in 10.
