Behind Hayward’s 3s, Butler wins eighth in row

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO — Gordon Hayward hit seven 3-pointers and tied his career-high with 25 points to lead No. 17 Butler to its eighth straight victory, 59-52 over Illinois-Chicago on Saturday.

Shelvin Mack had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Willie Veasley scored 10 points for the Bulldogs (16-1, 7-0 Horizon League), who overcame a 13-point second-half deficit.

Tori Boyd scored 13 points, Robo Kreps had 11 and Scott Vandermeer had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Flames (9-8, 2-5), who lost for the sixth time in eight games.

Hayward hit two free throws and consecutive 3-pointers to give the Bulldogs a 53-45 lead with 2:21 left.

Butler used a 13-4 run to pull within four points, then went on a 7-0 run to take a 43-42 lead with 8:26 remaining.

Loyola of Chicago 71, Valparaiso 56

CHICAGO — Justin Cerasoli had a career-high 28 points to lead Loyola over Valparaiso.

Cerasoli was backed up by J.R. Blount with 15 points and Walt Gibler with nine. Gibler hit all seven of his free throws and has made 29 of 31 from the line for the season.

Aric Van Weelden also had a career-high, grabbing 11 rebounds.

Valparaiso (5-14, 2-6) was playing short handed because of a knee injury to leading scorer Urule Igbavboa. Michael Rogers scored 16 points for the Crusaders, while Howard Little had 12 and Cameron Witt added 10.

Wis.-Milwaukee 77, Cleveland State 75

MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin-Milwaukee got career highs from James Eayrs with 23 points and Anthony Hill with 20. The Vikings (13-7, 4-4) were led by Norris Cole with 21 points and J’Nathan Bullock with 19.