NCAA BB  FINAL               1ST 2ND     TOTAL
                             --- ---     -----
         BUTLER               28  40       68
         ILLINOIS CHI         31  35       66    FINAL

 HIGH SCORERS:  BUTLER - JOEL CORNETTE 20, BRANDON MILLER 15,
                TWO PLAYERS WITH 9
                ILLINOIS CHI - TAURUS COOK 12, JON-PIERRE
                MITCHOM 12, TWO PLAYERS WITH 11

 HIGH REBOUND:  BUTLER - BRANDON MILLER 5, LAVALL JORDAN 5
                ILLINOIS CHI - JON-PIERRE MITCHOM 8, TWO PLAYERS
                WITH 6

 HIGH ASSISTS:  BUTLER - BRANDON MILLER 6, THOMAS JACKSON 4
                ILLINOIS CHI - TAURUS COOK 5, JON-PIERRE MITCHOM
                4
                                                                        

Box Score

BUTLER (68)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Hainje          28   3-7   2-3   1-3  1  3    8
Cornette        39  9-11   2-4   3-3  2  2   20
Miller          40  6-13   0-0   0-5  6  2   15
Jackson         24   3-4   1-3   0-2  4  4    9
Jordan          36   3-7   2-2   1-5  2  2    9
Archey          14   0-4   5-5   1-1  0  0    5
Lightfoot        3   0-0   2-2   0-0  0  0    2
Walls            6   0-0   0-0   1-1  0  0    0
Robisch         10   0-3   0-0   0-1  0  2    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 24-49 14-19  7-21 15 15   68
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.490, FT-.737. 3-Point Goals:
6-13, .462 (Hainje 0-2, Miller 3-6, Jackson 2-2,
Jordan 1-1, Archey 0-2). Team rebounds: 3.
Blocked shots: 3 (Cornette, Miller, Jordan).
Turnovers: 8 (Miller 3, Jackson 2, Cornette,
Hainje, Walls). Steals: 4 (Archey, Jackson,
Lightfoot, Miller).

ILLINOIS CHI (66)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Brown           32   4-7   3-4   1-3  1  2   11
Scott           32   4-9   2-2   1-6  0  3   10
Cook            36   5-9   2-2   1-2  5  2   12
Mitchom         39  4-13   4-4   3-8  4  3   12
Schneiderman    24   2-5   2-2   0-1  3  3    8
Mixson          17   4-6   1-4   1-3  1  3   11
Little          15   1-1   0-0   4-6  1  2    2
Carr             5   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  2    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 24-50 14-18 11-29 15 20   66
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.480, FT-.778. 3-Point Goals:
4-12, .333 (Cook 0-1, Mitchom 0-4, Schneiderman
2-5, Mixson 2-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked
shots: 1 (Scott). Turnovers: 8 (Cook 3, Mitchom
3, Carr, Little). Steals: 2 (Cook, Mitchom).
__________________________________
Butler             28   40  -   68
Illinois Chi       31   35  -   66
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. Officials: Mike Foote,
Norm Nelson, Jerry Sauder.
                                                                        

DAVE'S POSTGAME ANALYSIS

The Butler Bulldogs won their second straight MCC regular season championship by defeating the UIC Flames 68-66. After trailing by 3 at halftime, the Bulldogs shot 65% in the second half. The game was back and forth for the final minutes, but the Bulldogs held off a UIC comeback attempt. The Flames had a 3-point shot at the buzzer that bounced out.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Joel Cornette. Joel had a career high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and has really turned his game up a notch of late. His agressive play will be key to any Butler postseason success.

Thomas Jackson was in foul trouble in both halves, but scored 9 second half points and dished out 4 assists. Brandon Miller stepped in for TJ, and had a fantastic game. Brandon finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists while playing 40 minutes. LaVall Jordan added 9 points and 5 rebounds. Rylan Hainje scored 8 points, and Darnell Archey added 5 points (all on free throws) off the bench. UIC was led Taurus Cook and Jon-Pierre Mitchom with 12 points apiece.

After so many close losses early in the season, the Bulldogs finally won some close ones over the past few weeks. It's a tribute to the progress this team has made over the season. They have shown they can win on the road, and that they can hold a lead down the stretch. We're not playing perfectly by any means, but we're doing the things that need to be done in order to win. Speaking of wins, this victory gives Butler 5 straight 20-win seasons. And a regular season championship will look good if we stumble in the conference tournament.