Fridays Top 25 Capsule
January 31st, 2009 Posted in NCAA basketball news, NCAA college basketball(13) BUTLER 59, VALPARAISO 51
INDIANAPOLIS Freshman Gordon Hayward scored 18 points and Willie Veasley added 13 as No 13 Butler used a late run to post a 59-51 victory, staving off a feisty Valparaiso team.
Matt Howard chipped in nine points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (19-1, 10-0 Horizon), who won their 21st straight Horizon League game. It was Butlers 11th consecutive win overall.
Valparaiso took its first lead of the game at 43-41 on a pair of free throws by Logan Jones before Butler answered with 11 straight points to take a nine-point advantage with 2:15 left.
Michael Rogers made a 3-pointer from the left corner, and Jake Dieblers four-point play cut the deficit to 52-50 with 1:31 to play. But Butler made 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch to help seal the victory, as Valparaiso never had the ball with a chance to tie.
Urule Igbavboa, who missed a pair of free throws that would have made it a two-point game with 54 seconds left, scored 15 points to lead the Crusaders (6-16, 3-8).
Butler started fast, scoring the games first 10 points as Veasley and Hayward made consecutive 3-pointers to cap the run.
Valparaiso fought back, however, as DeAndre Haskins 3-pointer capped an 11-0 burst and evened the contest at 19-19 with 2:15 left in the first half.
Butler held a 24-22 lead at the break and scored the first six points of the second half to extend the advantage to eight.
But Valparaiso continued to hang tough, and Igbavboas 3-pointer tied it at 37-37 with 8:24 remaining. Jones made a pair from the line to give the Crusaders the lead, but Valparaiso then went nearly four minutes without a point as Butler surged ahead.
