BUTLER 79, #23 WAKE FOREST 63

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NCAA BB  MIDWEST REGION


         FINAL               1ST 2ND     TOTAL
                             --- ---     -----
         BUTLER (10)          43  36       79
         WAKE FOREST (7)      10  53       63    FINAL


 HIGH SCORERS:  BUTLER - BRANDON MILLER 18, RYLAN HAINJE 15,
                LAVALL JORDAN 15
                WAKE FOREST - ROBERT OKELLEY 20, DARIUS SONGAILA
                13, BRODERICK HICKS 10


 HIGH REBOUND:  BUTLER - LAVALL JORDAN 7, JOEL CORNETTE 7
                WAKE FOREST - DARIUS SONGAILA 8, JOSH SHOEMAKER 6


 HIGH ASSISTS:  BUTLER - LAVALL JORDAN 3, THOMAS JACKSON 3
                WAKE FOREST - JOSH SHOEMAKER 5, JOSH HOWARD 4
                                                                        


Box Score


BUTLER (79)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Cornette        34   1-4   2-3   2-7  2  3    4
Hainje          28   5-7   3-4   1-4  2  3   15
Miller          36  6-10   4-4   0-2  1  3   18
Jackson         34  4-10   4-4   2-5  3  3   14
Jordan          38  6-10   1-1   1-7  3  3   15
Archey          10   1-4   4-4   0-0  0  1    6
Walls            2   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Robisch         18   3-5   1-2   1-2  0  0    7
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 26-50 19-22  7-27 11 16   79
_______________________________________________


Percentages: FG-.520, FT-.864. 3-Point Goals:
8-15, .533 (Hainje 2-2, Miller 2-4, Jackson 2-2,
Jordan 2-4, Archey 0-3). Team rebounds: 3.
Blocked shots: 1 (Hainje). Turnovers: 9 (Jackson
3, Hainje 2, Miller 2, Archey, Robisch). Steals:
4 (Archey, Jackson, Jordan, Miller).


WAKE FOREST (63)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Songaila        34  6-15   1-1   4-8  0  3   13
Vidaurreta      10   2-3   1-1   0-0  0  0    5
Hicks           31  4-11   0-0   1-4  2  4   10
Okelley         38  7-16   4-5   0-0  0  4   20
Howard          23   1-5   2-2   0-3  4  4    5
Hamilton        18   1-3   0-0   0-1  1  0    3
Murray          12   0-1   0-0   1-1  2  0    0
Scott           16   2-3   2-4   2-3  0  3    6
Shoemaker       18   0-2   1-2   3-6  5  3    1
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 23-59 11-15 11-26 14 21   63
_______________________________________________


Percentages: FG-.390, FT-.733. 3-Point Goals:
6-19, .316 (Vidaurreta 0-1, Hicks 2-3, Okelley
2-11, Howard 1-1, Hamilton 1-3). Team rebounds:
6. Blocked shots: 5 (Hicks 2, Scott 2, Hamilton).
Turnovers: 13 (Hicks 6, Howard 4, Scott,
Shoemaker, Songaila). Steals: 7 (Murray 2,
Okelley 2, Hicks, Howard, Shoemaker).
__________________________________
Butler             43   36  -   79
Wake Forest        10   53  -   63
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. Officials: Tim Higgins,
David Day, Doug Shows.

DAVE'S POSTGAME ANALYSIS

364 days ago, the Butler Bulldogs suffered one of the most heart-breaking defeats in school history, losing to eventual national runner-up Florida 69-68 in overtime on a well-publicized last second shot. For an entire year the Dawgs have had that memory gnawing at them, wondering what could have been. On Friday, March 16, 2001, nearly one year to the day after Florida, they didn't have to wonder any more. The place? Kemper Arena in Kansas City, MO. The event? The first round of the Midwest Regional in the NCAA Tournament. The victims? The #23 Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who finished tied for 5th in the mighty ACC after starting 12-0 and being ranked as high as #4 nationally. The result? Butler kicked Wake Forest up, down, and around the court for 20 minutes, taking a 43-10 halftime advantage. And while the Deacons did manage 53 second half points, the damage had been done. The Bulldogs appeared to take out all their frustrations on Wake Forest and erased the disappointment of last year's defeat with an impressive 79-63 victory. It marked the first time since 1962 that Butler had won an NCAA Tournament game. Enough cannot be said about that first half. Butler hit 8 3-point shots, 2 apiece from Rylan Hainje, Brandon Miller, Thomas Jackson, and LaVall Jordan. The Deacons didn't hit their first field goal until the 11:00 mark. Their offensive futility had not been equalled since the late 30's and early 40's, and certainly unmatched since the advent of the shot clock.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Does it matter? WE WON AN NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME, AND WHIPPED AN ACC TEAM IN THE PROCESS! But if I had to give the honor to someone, it would definitely be LaVall Jordan. Our lone senior helped erase the endless replays of his missed free throws against Florida by scoring 15 points and hauling down 7 rebounds. He also held WF's leading scorer, Josh Howard, to just 5 points. Basically, another day at the office for Vall.

Brandon Miller led the way with 18 points, including 12 huge points in the second half that kept us in the lead. Rylan Hainje finished with 15 points. Thomas Jackson added 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Joel Cornette had 7 rebounds to go along with 4 points. Off the bench, Scott Robisch enjoyed his best outing since returning from injury, finishing with 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting. Darnell Archey added 6 points, 4 on free throws. WF was led by Robert O'Kelley's 20 points, all in the second half.

Two lingering images from this game that I will take with me forever: the scoreboard reading "Butler 43, Wake Forest 10" at halftime, and when the jumbotron showed CBS officially moving us into the second round on their brackets. Indescribable.

Up next for Butler: a rematch with the Arizona Wildcats.

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