Both Milwaukee and Youngstown State got their seasons off on the right foot on Saturday, collecting wins in their first game of the year. Butler thought it had joined the group with a last-second victory, but fell in overtime at Evansville.
Milwaukee 71, Southwest Minnesota State 65
Milwaukee (1-0) was without the services of Preseason All-League selections Kaylon Williams and Tony Meier, but Ja'rob McCallum, Ryan Allen and James Haarsma were more than enough to lead the Panthers to a 71-65 win over visiting Southwest Minnesota State at U.S. Cellular Arena.
The Panthers led by as many as 16 points late in the second half before the Mustangs brought the final margin into single digits. Milwaukee helped seal the result with a 21-7 run that ran from the end of the first half into the second, with the Panthers assuming a 46-30 cushion three minutes into the second stanza.
McCallum and Allen each finished with 16 points for UWM, while Haarsma collected 17 rebounds in his first action for the Panthers. With 10 of those boards coming on the offensive glass, Haarsma helped Milwaukee build a 17-2 edge in second-chance points.
Youngstown State 76, Samford 69
Kendrick Perry picked up where he left off from the Pittsburgh Pro-Am Summer League, recording a career-best 28 points to lead Youngstown State (1-0) its first road-opening win since 2000, 76-69, over Samford.
Trailing by three at halftime, the Penguins locked down defensively, forcing eight Samford turnovers and limiting the Bulldogs to 37.5-percent shooting in the final 20 minutes of play. YSU would capitalize offensively, as consecutive three-pointers from Blake Allen put the Penguins ahead, 61-50, with 3:46 to play.
Perry had 15 of his 28 in the game's first half, drilling four three-pointers before a drought in the final 3:25 of the half allowed Samford to take the lead into the locker room.
Damian Eargle finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and six blocks, while Allen had 12 points.
Evansville 80, Butler 77 (ot)
In a wild opener at the new Ford Center in Evansville, Butler (0-1) thought it had won in regulation at the buzzer, only to fall in overtime to Evansville, 80-77.
With Butler ahead 69-68, a loose ball foul was called on Jackson Aldridge with 0:00.9 remaining on the clock. Evansville would split the pair of free throws, and the Bulldogs then launched a full-court pass to Andrew Smith, who seemingly laid the ball in as time expired. However, officials ruled Smith was fouled before getting off the shot, giving the big man two free throws with 0:00.2 ticks left. When Smith missed both, the teams went to overtime.
In the extra session, Butler was never able to gain the lead, only tying the game on two occasions.
Chrishawn Hopkins, who missed the Bulldogs' exhibitions, broke out with a career-best 22 points, while Smith added 21.
Tags: Butler - Men's Basketball · Milwaukee - Men's Basketball · Youngstown State - Men's Basketball
