No. 9 Butler avenges loss to Cleveland State, 51-46

Wright State squeaked past Illinois-Chicago.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS — Matt Howard scored 17 points, and No. 9 Butler defeated Cleveland State 51-46 Saturday to avenge one of its two losses this season.

A.J. Graves added 15 points for the Bulldogs (24-2, 13-2 Horizon League), who won their eighth straight.

Cedric Jackson scored 20 points and J’Nathan Bullock added 11 for Cleveland State (17-11, 10-6), which had won three in a row. Bullock had averaged 26.3 points in Cleveland State’s previous three games, but the Bulldogs held him to 5-for-15 shooting.

Cleveland State beat Butler 56-52 on Jan. 17, the Bulldogs’ last loss.

Cleveland State shot 50 percent or better in its previous two games, wins over Wisconsin-Green Bay and Valparaiso, but the Vikings shot just 31 percent against Bulldogs.

Butler’s strong defensive effort came after the Bulldogs allowed Youngstown State to shoot 58 percent on Thursday.

A 10-3 run by Cleveland State early in the second half cut into the Bulldogs’ eight-point halftime lead. A three-point play by Jackson trimmed Butler’s lead to 38-36, and a layup by Bullock tied the game at 40 minutes later.

Julian Betko and Pete Campbell hit 3-pointers to help the Bulldogs take a 48-42 lead with 9 minutes left. Neither team scored again until Cleveland State’s George Tandy made two free throws with 3:24 to play. The Vikings never got closer.

Butler helped Cleveland State stay in the game by making only 11 of 20 free throws.

Wright St. 52, Illinois-Chicago 51

FAIRBORN — Cooper Land made two free throws with seven seconds remaining for Wright State.

Vaughn Duggins had 11 points and Scottie Wilson 10 points and 12 rebounds for Wright State.

Detroit 56, Loyola 53

DETROIT — Jon Goode scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half to lead Detroit to its second straight win.

Goode made four straight 3-pointers early in the second half as the Titans won back-to-back Horizon League games for the first time this season.

Andy Polka and reserve Leon Young scored 11 points apiece for Loyola, which led 23-18 at intermission. Polka also snared 11 rebounds.