NIT

NCAA BB  NIT

         FINAL                   1ST  2ND  TOTAL
                                 ---  ---  -----
         BOWLING GREEN           38   31    69
         BUTLER                  38   43    81     FINAL

HIGH SCORERS:   BOWLING GREEN - LEN MATELA 31, KEITH MCLEOD 23, BRANDON 
                PARDON 8
                BUTLER - RYLAN HAINJE 28, THOMAS JACKSON 18, SCOTT 
                ROBISCH 10
HIGH REBOUND:   BOWLING GREEN - KEITH MCLEOD 7, LEN MATELA 4, TWO PLAYERS 
                WITH 3
                BUTLER - JOEL CORNETTE 14, RYLAN HAINJE 4, THOMAS 
                JACKSON 2
HIGH ASSISTS:   BOWLING GREEN - BRANDON PARDON 9, JABARI MATTOX 3, FIVE 
                PLAYERS WITH 1
                BUTLER - JOEL CORNETTE 7, RYLAN HAINJE 3, THOMAS 
                JACKSON 3

         ATT:   5,205
                                                                        

Box Score

NIT

BOWLING GREEN (69)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
B Klassen           16   0-1   0-0   1-1   1   1    0
G Fitch             16   1-2   0-0   1-2   1   4    2
L Matela            38 12-16   6-7   1-4   1   4   31
K Mcleod            32  8-13   4-7   1-7   1   5   23
B Pardon            36  3-11   1-2   1-2   9   3    8
J Almanson          10   0-1   0-0   0-2   0   1    0
K Wilson             1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0    0
J Mattox            12   0-0   1-2   0-1   3   2    1
C Ryan               7   0-0   0-0   0-3   0   1    0
E Crawford          22   1-2   0-0   0-3   1   4    2
C Eyink              9   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   3    0
K Netter             1   1-1   0-0   0-1   0   0    2

_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 26-47 12-18  5-26  17  28   69
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.553, FT-.667. 3-Point Goals:
5-12, .417 (L Matela 1-1, K Mcleod 3-5, B 
Pardon 1-4, J Almanson 0-1, E Crawford 0-1). 
Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 1 (L 
Matela). Turnovers: 13 (K Mcleod 7, J 
Almanson 2, B Pardon, C Ryan, E Crawford, C 
Eyink). Steals: 1 (C Eyink).

BUTLER (81)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
J Cornette          36   2-3   2-6  5-14   7   4    6
R Hainje            36 11-16   4-7   2-4   3   3   28
S Robisch           20   3-5   2-2   0-1   2   4   10
B Miller            35   2-5   0-2   0-0   2   1    5
T Jackson           39  6-15   5-8   0-2   3   0   18
D Archey             8   1-2   4-4   0-0   0   0    7
M Monserez          23   2-6   1-1   0-1   1   4    7
R Walls              1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0    0
M Moore              2   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   1    0

_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 27-52 18-30  7-22  18  17   81
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.519, FT-.600. 3-Point Goals:
9-24, .375 (R Hainje 2-5, S Robisch 2-3, B 
Miller 1-3, T Jackson 1-7, D Archey 1-1, M 
Monserez 2-5). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked 
Shots: 2 (J Cornette 2). Turnovers: 6 (B 
Miller 2, D Archey, R Hainje, M Monserez, T 
Jackson). Steals: 6 (B Miller 4, R Hainje, T 
Jackson).

-----------------------------------
BOWLING GREEN        38  31   -  69
BUTLER               38  43   -  81
----------------------------------- 

Technical fouls: Bowling Green (2)-McLeod, bench. A: 5,205. 
                                                                        

DAVE'S POSTGAME ANALYSIS

The Falcons held a 43-42 advantage at the 16:59 mark in the second half, but that would turn out to be their last lead. The Bulldogs took the lead for good on a Thomas Jackson layup. The Butler lead stayed between two and six for nearly ten minutes, and was 65-60 with 5:48 to go. That's when the Bulldogs went on a decisive 5-0 run that pushed their lead to double digits, where it would stay for the remainder of the game. McLeod fouled out with a little over four minutes remaining, and earned a technical foul for his reaction to his fifth foul. Darnell Archey hit both technical free throws, and Hainje hit one of two for the personal foul to push the run to 8-0 and the score to 73-60. Butler hit five of six free throws down the stretch, including two more Archey technical shots for a T whistled on BGSU head coach Dan Dakich with 46 seconds remaining. When all was said and done, Butler had the win, 81-69

PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Jackson and Hainje. After the game, Coach Lickliter pointed out that he doesn't normally single out individual efforts in keeping with the "team" philosophy, but he was joined in the postgame press conference by the seniors who have played together for four seasons. Hainje led the Bulldogs in scoring with 28 points, and it was his willingness to take the ball inside and create points in the paint in the second half that made the difference for the Bulldogs. He also had four rebounds and three assists. TJ also did a nice job of penetrating against the BGSU defense and getting to the line. He finished with 18 points and three assists, and it was his defense that played a major role in limiting McLeod to just five points in the second half.

Joel Cornette had an impressive stat line as well, finishing with a game-high 14 rebounds to go along with six points, seven assists, and two blocks. Scott Robisch had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Brandon Miller added five points and four steals. Archey and Monserez added seven points apiece off the bench. The Falcons were led by Matela's career-high 31 points and McLeod's 24 points and seven rebounds.

When the Bulldogs were down 14, it would have been very easy for them to give up. After all, this wasn't the tournament they were hoping to play in this week, and they could have mailed in the season at that point. But they went on one of their patented runs. Dakich saw one such run in person at the Top of the World Classic in November--Butler was down 17 to Washington in the championship game prior to storming back to claim the title. Dakich noted afterward that while Bowling Green was hitting more shots, Butler was getting easier shots and it was only a matter of time before they would begin to fall. Coach Lickliter thanked the fans for their role in helping the Bulldogs get back into the game. Hainje echoed those sentiments, proclaiming Butler fans as "the best in the nation."

Inevitably, the question of the the NCAA non-selection came up. "Did this game help lessen the sting of Selection Sunday?" No, said Lickliter. Hainje had some very insightful comments on the matter. "It hurts," he said, "but it's reality. We're men and we have to deal with it. But the NCAA is a thing of the past--we decided we had to look forward." When the topic of Butler's next opponent came up (the Syracuse Orangemen out of the Big East), Lickliter stated he hadn't really focused on anyone besides Bowling Green to this point, but he said he had complete confidence in his team. Jackson, ever the model for the Butler Way, simply stated, "We're just going [to Syracuse] to play a basketball game."