Men's Basketball Round-up - December 19

Dec. 20, 2007

#16/18 Butler 83, Bradley 64 Box Score


Indianapolis (AP) -- Butler changed the game plan Wednesday night.


With its usually proficient 3-point shooters struggling, the 16th-ranked Bulldogs resorted to Plan B: strong post play, backdoor cuts and an array of layups to get the offense in sync.


Eventually, the long-range shooters finally caught up to their teammates.


A.J. Graves scored 21 points and fellow guard Mike Green added 17 points and nine rebounds for the new-look Bulldogs, who used a late 3-point flurry to finally put away Bradley 83-64.


"It's definitely important to have that inside presence any time we're struggling from outside," Green said. "But it was one of those games."


It wasn't supposed to be.


Most expected the game to be a shooting exhibition between two of the nation's premiere teams from beyond the arc. Bradley (7-4) and Butler (10-1) were both averaging about 10 3s per game.


But with both teams intent on defending the 3-point line like it was Fort Knox, it became a plodding, deliberate chess match.


So the Bulldogs did what they had to. They got the ball inside to Matt Howard, their freshman forward who almost single-handedly kept them close early, and then relied on the athleticism of backup swingman Willie Veasley to open things up on the baseline.


The combination helped Butler break out of its shooting doldrums late in the first half, and later opened things up outside for Graves.


Daniel Ruffin, who was in foul trouble for the final 23 minutes, and backup Tyrone Cole-Scott both had 11 points for Bradley.

UIC 66, Toledo 56 Box Score


Chicago - Josh Mayo's 16 second-half points and a tenacious defensive effort in the final stanza helped the UIC men's basketball team win a 66-56 decision over Toledo at the UIC Pavilion on Wednesday night.


UIC improved to 7-4, while the Rockets fell to 2-9.


Mayo finished with a game-high 22. The junior guard hit four treys, all after halftime.


Robert Kreps scored 12 points and handed out four assists off the bench. In the post Scott VanderMeer and Jeremy Buttell led the way with six rebounds each, and Jermaine Dailey added five rebounds and three rejections.


UIC went into intermission with a deficit for the first time at home this season, trailing 32-25 to the Rockets at halftime. Tyrone Kent, who finished with a team-high 19 points, hit three three-pointers to pace Toledo's early effort with 13 first-period points.


Mayo hit two consecutive three-pointers within the first 1:13 of the second half to cut UIC's deficit to one. After Toledo built its advantage up to as many as six, another Mayo three started a 9-0 UIC spurt that allowed the Flames to outscore the visitors 20-5 and take the lead for good.


The Flames clamped down defensively and allowed Toledo to score just 24 points in the second half, the lowest offensive output by an opponent in the final period this season.


UIC shot 56 percent (15-for-27) in the second half to finish with a clip of 50 percent (25-for-50) from the floor for the game. It marked the fourth time in five home games that UIC has shot 50 percent or better from the field.


The Flames kept their perfect home record intact with their fifth victory at the Pavilion in as many attempts. UIC has now won eight home games in a row dating back to last season.


UIC's 7-4 mark is the best 11-game start for the Flames since a 9-2 opening to the 2003-04 campaign.

Milwaukee 74, Central Michigan 71 Box Score

Milwaukee - Paige Paulsen scored 22 points to lead three players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pulled out a hard-fought 74-71 win over Central Michigan Wednesday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena.


Deion James added 12 points while Marcus Skinner contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Panthers (4-7) snapped a six-game losing streak.


Giordan Watson led Central Michigan (4-6) with 25 points, but the Chippewas had 23 turnovers and shot just 37.5 percent from the field in the second half.


Milwaukee led by as many as 12 points in the second half before hanging on down the stretch. In fact, CMU cut the lead to one on three occasions in the final three minutes but UWM hit enough free throws to pull out the victory.


The win came just one day after leading scorer and rebounder Torre Johnson was dismissed from the team.


UWM led by six at the half and extended its edge to 55-43 on a three-pointer by Deonte Roberts with 11:03 remaining. But, Central Michigan steadily cut into the lead, as a three-pointer by Jordan Bitzer made it 57-53 before another three-pointer by Bitzer brought the Chippewas to within 62-60 with 5:31 left.


The Panthers hung tough, though, with James converting five free throws and Allan Hanson four over the final minute. Single free throws by James with 21 and then 18 seconds left pushed UWM into a five-point lead, but Chris Kellermann cut the advantage back to two with a three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left. James then hit another single free throw and Watson was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.

Saint Louis 60, Loyola 43 Box Score


St. Louis - Saint Louis (8-5) used a decisive 14-2 run early in the second half to take control of the game en route to a 60-43 victory over Loyola University Chicago (4-6) tonight at the Scottrade Center. The Ramblers connected on only 32 percent of their shots from the field and posted their lowest point total in 10 seasons as their two-game winning streak came to a halt.


Both teams engaged in a defensive struggle in the opening 20 minutes as neither squad shot better than 36 percent. Junior guard Justin Cerasoli's lay-up with 1:56 left in the half erased a six-point Billiken lead and gave Loyola a 21-20 lead. Cerasoli, a junior guard, was making his Rambler debut after transferring from the University of Mississippi at the semester break last year. Barry Eberhardt's three-pointer 35 seconds later gave SLU a 23-21 lead it took into the intermission.


Loyola trailed 33-31 early in the second half before Saint Louis embarked on its decisive 14-2 run that started with a basket by Dwayne Polk. Eberhardt scored half of the Billikens' points during that game-changing stretch and from there, the Ramblers were able to get no closer than 10 points (43-33) the rest of the way.


Cerasoli came off the bench to tally a team-high 12 points, hitting 5 of 10 shots from the field, while dishing out a pair of assists. Leon Young added nine points, while J.R. Blount was held to a season-low seven points. The Ramblers' 43-point effort is their lowest since a 58-39 loss to Detroit, Jan. 7, 1998.


Eberhardt posted a game-high 16 points to lead a Saint Louis offense that shot 51 percent from the field.

#14/11 Texas A&M 79, Detroit 39 Box Score

College Station, Texas - Texas A&M showcased its top-20 ranking with a 79-39 decision over Detroit on Wednesday night at Reed Arena. With the loss the Titans dropped to 4-7, while the #14/11 Aggies improved to 10-1 on the year.


Jon Goode paced the Titans with 13 points, but did see two milestones come to an end. The senior had tallied 20+ points in four straight games. Goode also hit 30 straight free throws spanning four games until missing two against the Aggies.


Junior Chris Hayes just missed a double-double ending with eight points and eight rebounds. Senior Zach Everingham and sophomore Woody Payne each netted six points apiece.


UDM kept it close at first as the Titans trailed by only two, 12-10, after Everingham hit a trey at the 15:29 mark.


The next ten minutes belonged to the ranked Aggies who went on an 18-2 run to break the game wide open.


DeAndre Jordan led Texas A&M with 14 points and eight rebounds. Josh Carter scored 11, while Bryan Davis posted 10 markers to go with five rebounds and four blocks.


The Titans were outrebounded 44-31 and shot just 24 percent in the game.