BUTLER 53, MIAMI (OHIO) 52

Official Basketball Box Score MIAMI vs BUTLER 03/14/06 7:00 PM at Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: MIAMI 18-11 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 31 PEAVY, Nathan....... f 1-3 0-0 5-6 1 5 6 4 7 1 3 0 0 33 50 POLLITZ, Tim........ f 8-11 1-1 0-0 1 10 11 0 17 1 1 0 1 40 22 VANDERSLUIS, Nate... c 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 7 03 HAUSFELD, Josh...... g 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 4 3 1 1 0 0 14 25 HATCHER, William.... g 3-8 1-3 2-2 0 0 0 0 9 5 2 1 0 37 01 PENNO, Doug......... 1-5 1-5 0-0 0 2 2 4 3 2 2 0 1 27 10 TROYER, Chad........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 3 24 BRAMOS, Michael..... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 16 30 ST. CLAIR, Monty.... 3-7 1-1 2-3 3 2 5 1 9 0 1 1 1 23 TEAM................ 1 1 1 Totals.............. 19-40 5-13 9-11 7 25 32 15 52 10 16 2 3 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-24 45.8% 2nd Half: 8-16 50.0% Game: 47.5% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 2-5 40.0% Game: 38.5% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 7-8 87.5% Game: 81.8% 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: BUTLER 20-12 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 20 Polk, Brandon....... f 4-11 0-0 1-2 1 2 3 2 9 0 3 0 0 23 33 Crone, Brandon...... f 2-4 1-3 0-0 2 2 4 4 5 2 0 0 2 29 03 Horan, Bruce........ g 4-11 4-11 0-0 0 3 3 0 12 0 1 0 1 33 04 Graves, A. J........ g 6-13 4-7 3-4 0 0 0 0 19 0 2 0 4 37 21 Sheets, Avery....... g 2-11 0-4 2-2 2 2 4 1 6 6 0 0 2 40 01 Betko, Julian....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 8 24 Ligon, Brian........ 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 3 2 1 0 0 0 18 32 Streicher, Drew..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 TEAM................ 1 1 1 Totals.............. 19-52 9-25 6-8 8 13 21 12 53 9 7 0 10 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-26 30.8% 2nd Half: 11-26 42.3% Game: 36.5% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-15 26.7% 2nd Half: 5-10 50.0% Game: 36.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 100 % 2nd Half: 4-6 66.7% Game: 75.0% 2,1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Michael Stephens, William Laubenstein, Sean Hull Technical fouls: MIAMI-None. BUTLER-None. Attendance: 3088 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total MIAMI......................... 27 25 - 52 BUTLER........................ 22 31 - 53 NIT Opening Round

DAVE'S POSTGAME ANALYSIS
Brandon Polk's tip-in with just over two seconds remaining gave the Butler Bulldogs a hard-fought 53-52 victory over the Miami RedHawks in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Things started well for Butler when A. J. Graves buried a three-pointer 15 seconds into the game. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they were stuck on three points until a Polk layup at the 15:10 mark. Miami scored nine unanswered points during that stretch, and Butler was forced to play catch-up for most of the opening period. The Redhawks' biggest lead came at 13-5 with 14:17 left in the half. They led 20-13 when a 7-0 Butler run knotted the scored at 20 with 4:14 remaining in the half. The RedHawks ended the opening frame on a 7-2 run, capped by a Tim Pollitz three-pointer at the...well, I'd say at the buzzer, except there was no buzzer when time elapsed. Anyway, Miami held a 27-22 halftime lead. The scoring woes continued in the second half, as Butler managed just two points in the opening five minutes. Miami held a 35-28 lead with 13:39 to go when the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead since the opening basket, 36-35, at the 11:38 mark. The RedHawks quickly regained the lead with a 7-0 run of their own, but the Bulldogs answered with a 7-0 spurt to take a 43-42 advantage with 5:15 remaining. Miami once again reclaimed the lead and led by as many as four points over the final minutes. Butler cut the deficit to one on a three-pointer by Bruce Horan with 1:50 left. Following a missed shot at the other end, the Bulldogs got the ball to Polk for a layup and a 51-50 lead with 0:47 to go. Pollitz answered with a jumper at the 0:25 mark to put Miami back on top 52-50. Following a timeout, Avery Sheets drove the lane and put up a runner which bounced around the rim a few times before falling out. But Polk was there to corral it and put it back in, giving the Bulldogs a 53-52 lead with two seconds remaining. Out of timeouts, the RedHawks were forced to inbound the ball right away, and their desperation attempt at the buzzer was no good, giving the Bulldogs the win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: A. J. Graves. Graves' 10 first-half points kept the Bulldogs afloat when points were hard to come by. He finished with 19 points and four steals.
Bruce Horan finished with 12 points on four three-pointers, and in doing so eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career--congratulations, Bruce! Polk finished with nine points and three rebounds. Sheets added six points, six assists, and four rebounds. Brandon Crone had five points and four rebounds. Brian Ligon added two points and four rebounds off the bench. Miami was led by Pollitz' double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Miami came out playing zone defense, and Butler didn't seem to have an answer for it early. They eventually started hitting some shots, but Miami's defense made sure that none of them came easily. Butler shot just 31% in the first half (27% from three-point range) and was outrebounded 22-7. Things improved for the second half: the Bulldogs shot 42% (50% from three-point range) and outrebounded the RedHawks 14-10. Butler's defense forced 16 turnovers for the game, 10 coming via steals. And after being outscored 6-0 on second chance points in the first half, the Bulldogs enjoyed an 11-1 advantage in that regard in the second half, none bigger than the game's final two points. Not the prettiest game at times, but a great win over a great opponent.

The Bulldogs will now travel to Florida State for a game against the Seminoles. Game time is Friday, March 17, at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Back to the Butler Basketball Page

DISCLAIMER: This page is not endorsed by, run by, or otherwise affiliated with Butler University. It is maintained by yours truly, an alumnus, with the sole intent of being the best place for Butler Men's Hoops info on the Internet.

[counter]

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page