Feb. 3, 2007

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INDIANAPOLIS -A.J. Graves scored 20 points and Mike Green added 14 and nine rebounds to lead #13 Butler to a 66-47 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Ricky Franklin scored 17 points to lead the Panthers (8-17, 5-7), who shot just 35 percent from the field. Paige Paulsen pitched in with 10 points, all in the second half.

The Bulldogs (22-2, 10-1 Horizon), playing their fifth game in 10 days, scored the first nine points of the game. They raced to a 34-18 lead at the half, built it to as many as 24 points early in the final period and were never threatened after that.

It was Butler's eighth consecutive win and 20th in a row at home.

The Panthers, meanwhile, could never get on track offensively. Leading scorer Avery Smith scored just five points after scoring 21 in the first meeting between the two schools.

"You just have to give credit where credit is due," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "They had played a lot of games in just a few days but they came home and took care of business. It's a credit to how they do things."

The first half was one of spurts; Butler's were longer and came more often.

After the Bulldogs' 9-0 run at the start, Milwaukee scored the next eight before Butler broke the game open with a 10-0 run, including three-pointers by Green and Campbell.

Franklin, who had 12 of the Panthers' 18 points in the first half, cut Butler's lead to 19-11 with a three-pointer. But the Bulldogs then finished the half with a 15-7 run, including another three-pointer by Campbell and two by Graves.

Butler scored the first eight points of the second half and took a 42-18 lead before Milwaukee scored its only field goal in the first eight minutes of the second half.

The third trey by Campbell, who was 3-of-5 from long range and leads the Horizon League in three-point percentage, gave Butler a 47-23 lead. The Panthers closed within 16 points midway through the period before the Bulldogs pulled away for good.

"The bottom line for us is that we could not establish anything inside," Jeter said. "For them to shoot the amount of free throws they did and for us to shoot 7-of-9 - you just aren't going to win on the road if you don't get to the free throw line."

UWM returns to action Monday night, playing at Wright State in a 6 p.m. contest.

The Associated Press contributed to this story