March 8, 2011

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MILWAUKEE - Butler University broke open a close game with a late 16-1 run in claiming a 59-44 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship Final Tuesday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The Panthers (19-13) overcame a slow start and used a scoring run of their own to get back in it, only to see the Bulldogs (23-9) take control down the stretch and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row.

Matt Howard scored a game-high 18 points to lead Butler, with Shelvin Mack also in double-figures with 14. Andrew Smith grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

Milwaukee had three players in double-figures. Tony Meier, Anthony Hill and Tone Boyle all finished with 10 points, with Hill adding a team-best eight boards. UWM shot just 30 percent in the game, including 21 percent in the first half.

"First of all, we want to say thanks to the city, to our fans, for really coming out and supporting this group," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "It's been an incredible journey for us as a team to arrive at this destination right now. And, I am so proud of our young men for making the commitment to really care about each other."

Down 38-23 two minutes into the second half, the Panthers scored 16 of the game's next 20 points to get the crowd of 10,437 back into it and pull within three, at 42-39, with 9:45 to play.

That was when the Bulldogs would take control. Howard, named the League Tournament MVP, scored six points in the decisive 16-1 run, with back-to-back three-pointers by Chase Stigall and Mack part of the scoring spree.

"We seemed to be a little rushed, a little new to the moment, and never really got settled down that first half," Jeter said. "But we found a way in the second to battle back and it took everything we had in us to get back to that point."

Down 33-20 at the break, the Panthers came out at after intermission and fell behind further. Shawn Vanzant's three-pointer made it 38-23 at the 17:56 mark.

That was when the Panthers went on their run and made it the game that everyone was expecting. Meier hit back-to-back three-pointers and Boyle got fouled shooting one from long distance before making all three free throws. Then, after another stop, UWM completed an 11-0 run on a basket underneath by Ryan Allen that made it 38-34 with 15:59 to play.

The Panthers trailed 33-20 at intermission and struggled through the first 20 minutes. Milwaukee hit just 4-of-19 from the floor and turned the ball over nine times. It did manage 10-of-13 from the free throw line to help out.

Butler came flying out of the gates, jumping out to a 21-6 lead at the 11:45 mark. With the game tied at 4-4, the Bulldogs went on a 17-2 run to forge ahead, with Howard netting 10 of the points in the run.

The Panthers responded a bit, scoring 14 of the next 21 points of the game to get within eight at 28-20, the closest they would be in the first half.

The all-tournament team consisted of Howard, Mack, Vanzant, UWM's Hill and Valparaiso's Brandon Wood.

Milwaukee will still play in the postseason, earning a bid to the NIT as the regular season champion of the Horizon League. The Panthers will find out where and when they will play on Sunday evening.