BUTLER 62, WRIGHT STATE 57

Official Basketball Box Score Wright State vs Butler 3/7/09 7:00 PM EST at Hinkle Fieldhouse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Wright State 20-13 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 05 Cooperwood, Cory.... f 5-6 0-0 1-1 1 2 3 5 11 1 1 1 0 17 40 Thomas, Ronnie...... f 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 11 Evans, N'Gai........ g 2-7 1-3 0-0 0 2 2 2 5 6 0 0 1 29 21 Brown, Todd......... g 4-13 0-3 0-0 0 3 3 2 8 2 1 2 0 40 34 Graham, Will........ g 4-7 1-4 1-1 0 6 6 2 10 2 1 0 4 33 03 Tabler, Troy........ 3-5 3-4 0-0 0 6 6 0 9 1 3 0 0 21 14 Land, Cooper........ 1-5 1-4 2-4 3 0 3 5 5 0 0 0 0 15 30 Grote, Scott........ 2-5 1-1 1-2 2 0 2 3 6 1 1 0 0 24 33 Horne, Gavin........ 1-4 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 0 0 18 TEAM................ 3 3 Totals.............. 22-53 8-21 5-8 9 19 28 22 57 13 8 3 5 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-27 40.7% 2nd Half: 11-26 42.3% Game: 41.5% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-11 36.4% 2nd Half: 4-10 40.0% Game: 38.1% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 3-5 60.0% Game: 62.5% 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Butler 26-4 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 20 HAYWARD, Gordon..... f 0-1 0-1 2-4 1 7 8 0 2 2 0 0 1 33 21 VEASLEY, Willie..... f 3-7 0-3 2-3 2 1 3 2 8 0 1 0 2 37 54 HOWARD, Matt........ f 5-11 0-1 14-15 3 3 6 3 24 1 2 1 0 34 01 MACK, Shelvin....... g 1-7 1-4 4-6 0 6 6 3 7 3 2 0 0 30 05 NORED, Ronald....... g 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 3 2 1 2 0 1 26 02 VANZANT, Shawn...... 0-2 0-1 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 11 03 HAHN, Zach.......... 4-6 3-5 0-0 0 1 1 2 11 2 2 0 0 18 32 BUTCHER, Garrett.... 3-4 0-1 0-1 0 1 1 0 6 1 1 0 0 11 Team................ 2 2 Totals.............. 17-41 4-16 24-31 9 22 31 13 62 10 10 1 4 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-22 36.4% 2nd Half: 9-19 47.4% Game: 41.5% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-9 33.3% 2nd Half: 1-7 14.3% Game: 25.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 13-15 86.7% 2nd Half: 11-16 68.8% Game: 77.4% 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Mike Roberts, Sid Rodeheffer and Dan Fouser Technical fouls: Wright State-None. Butler-None. Attendance: Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Wright State.................. 28 29 - 57 Butler........................ 32 30 - 62 Points in the paint-WSU 12,BU 20. Points off turnovers-WSU 11,BU 10. 2nd chance points-WSU 9,BU 7. Fast break points-WSU 2,BU 4. Bench points-WSU 23,BU 19. Score tied-3 times. Lead changed-5 times. Last FG-WSU 2nd-01:14, BU 2nd-07:57. Largest lead-WSU by 3 1st-07:43, BU by 11 2nd-07:57.

MY POSTGAME ANALYSIS
The Butler Bulldogs advanced to the Horizon League championship game for the fourth straight year with a hard-fought 62-57 win over the Wright State Raiders at Hinkle Fieldhouse. After Todd Brown's basket opened the game, Butler scored 12 of the next 13 points to hold a 12-3 lead at the 14:41 mark. WSU then went on a 16-4 run to pull ahead 19-16 with 7:43 left in the period. The Raiders held a 21-20 advantage when a 10-2 Butler spurt put the Bulldogs back on top 30-23. Wright State shaved three points off that deficit over the final 1:36 of the half to make the halftime score 32-28. The second half largely consisted of Butler extending its lead and Wright State fighting back. Butler led by 7 at 37-30; Wright State pulled to within 39-38. The Bulldogs took their biggest lead of the game at 53-42 with 7:57 to go. The Raiders held Butler to five points over the next seven minutes of game time. A jumper by Cory Cooperwood and a N'Gai Evans three-pointer pulled WSU within two at 58-56 with 1:14 remaining. Gordon Hayward split a pair of free throws to give the Bulldogs a three-point lead. Evans and Todd Brown each missed a three-pointer on the next possession. Shelvin Mack made the second of his two foul shots to make it 60-56. Scott Grote likewise made the second of his two free throws to bring the Raiders within three again, but Matt Howard sealed the outcome with two free throws to send the Bulldogs to the title game with a 62-57 victory.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Howard. Matt led all scorers with 24 points along with six rebounds. He made 14 of his 15 free throw attempts.
Zach Hahn was Butler's only other double-figure scorer, connecting on three triples en route to 11 points. Willie Veasley added eight points and three rebounds. Mack had seven points, six rebounds, and three assists before falling to the floor with 10.6 seconds left with an apparent injury. Coach Brad Stevens said afterward, "He cramped up. He's fine." Garret Butcher finished with six points. Gordon Hayward was limited to just one field goal attempt, finishing with two points and eight rebounds. Ronald Nored had two points and four rebounds, while Shawn Vanzant added a pair of free throws for two points. WSU was led by Cooperwood's 11 points.
The Raiders carried over their strong perimeter shooting from the night before, connecting on four three-pointers in each half, doubling Butler's total from behind the arc for the game. With the outside game largely limited due to the Raiders' defense, Butler looked inside to Howard for offense and he delivered.
Butler will face the Cleveland State Vikings at Hinkle Fieldhouse in the championship game for the second straight year. Game time is Tuesday, March 10, at 9:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised live on ESPN. Hope to see you there.
Game photos, courtesy ndfan1993
AP photos, courtesy ESPN.com

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