Butler senior forward Garrett Butcher made two free throws with 3:35 remaining in last night’s game against Illinois-Chicago.

On the Bulldogs’ next possession Butcher made a long jump shot.

On the ensuing Flames’ possession, senior guard Ronald Nored stole the ball and went the length of the floor for a score.

Coach Brad Stevens then called a timeout to remove the pair.

That was the way Butler’s two graduating players ended their regular-season home careers.

Tuesday’s game was Senior Night, and the two lone athletic seniors left their mark by helping the Bulldogs (18-12, 11-6) beat the Flames (8-19, 3-13) 69-44.

Butler could return home in the Horizon League tournament in a few different scenarios or through the National Invitational Tournament.

Nored came close to his first-ever double-double, scoring 12 points, dishing out eight assists and capturing seven rebounds.

Butcher recorded four points and two steals in his time on the court.

Though it was a night for  celebrating the seniors, freshman forward Roosevelt Jones led the way for the Bulldogs with his second consecutive double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

“[Jones’] toughness allows you to win at home and on the road,” Stevens said.

Two other Bulldogs also posted double figures in points.

Junior center Andrew Smith and sophomore guard Chrishawn Hopkins scored 10 apiece.

Sophomore forward Khyle Marshall provided nine of the Bulldogs’ 20 bench points.

The Flames were led by junior guard Gary Talton and senior center Darrin Williams, who scored 13 and 11 points, respectively.

When Nored and Butcher left the game with 2:39 to go, Hinkle Fieldhouse erupted and an emotional ceremony shortly followed the game.

Photo by Taylor Cox

Stevens thanked the crowd for their support all season and for future support, because “we’re not done yet.”

Each senior also spoke briefly.

“We couldn’t have a better coaching staff,” Butcher said.

“There’s nothing better than Butler,” Nored said in front of his mother, grandmother and high school basketball coach from Alabama.

In a post-game press conference, Butcher described the night as bittersweet.

“It is a special moment I’ll hold in my heart,” Butcher said.

Butler’s victory coupled with Cleveland State’s loss to Green Bay allowed the Bulldogs to gain sole possession of second place in the Horizon League.

In order to secure the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, the Bulldogs will need to win Friday night against the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Valparaiso and hope for another Cleveland State loss.

On Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs won a non-conference game against Indiana State as part of BracketBuster Saturday.

In front of a sellout crowd at Hinkle, Butler routed their in-state foe 75-54, showing a glimpse of their late-season heroics from the past two seasons.

Smith led the Bulldogs in scoring with 12 points while collecting five rebounds.

Jones, Hopkins and sophomore forward Erik Fromm each scored 11 points in the contest. Jones also had 12 rebounds, recording his third career double-double.

The Bulldogs got 25 points off the bench, with Khyle Marshall chipping in 10 as one of five  players in double figures.

Butler shot 8-for-20 from behind the 3-point line. All nine of junior guard Chase Stigall’s points came from beyond the arc.

Sophomore forward R.J. Mahurin led the Sycamores (16-12) with a career-high 22 points, going 4-for-6 from the 3-point line.

The Bulldogs will hit the road to take on Valparaiso in the regular-season finale at 7 p.m. Friday.

The magic of Butler University exists on and off the court, and that is why this school is special.

I did not find out about Butler, nor did I apply here, because of basketball fame.  The university sent me a letter, and my mother pushed me to look into the school.

I fell in love with Butler not because of what I saw at Hinkle Fieldhouse but because of what I saw in the campus as a whole.

If the Butler men’s basketball team does not find a way into the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, everything will be OK.

There is much to look forward to next season, and there is, after all, more to this school than what happens at Hinkle.

After wins against Youngstown State, Cleveland State, Loyola of Chicago and Indiana State, the Bulldogs seem to have their February mojo working in full force.

But is it too late?  I believe so.

The team has struggled with consistency for much of the season, losing games to Evansville, Valparaiso and Ball State, as well as a pair against Detroit.

After last night’s victory over Illinois-Chicago, a victory against Valparaiso on Friday would give the team a 19-12 record in the regular season.

Hopefully that can propel the team to one of the top two seeds in the Horizon League tournament.

The Bulldogs will then need to win the conference tournament to have a hope of returning to March Madness. I do not see that happening.

Despite what happens with the remainder of this season, the program has a bright future.

Coach Brad Stevens has one of the nation’s best 3-point shooters in senior transfer Rotnei Clarke, who will play his final year of eligibility for the Bulldogs next season.

Stevens also has a solid recruiting class, staring 6-foot-5 shooting guard Kellen Dunham, coming to campus next season.

I expect that these two will provide effective outside shooting—something that the team has been lacking this season.

More than anything that will be seen in Hinkle over the next few years, I find comfort in the fact that even without the two deep runs in the tournament, Butler would still be the fantastic school it is today.

Butler students are blessed to attend such an amazing school.  While the school has garnered fame from basketball, but without a good background, it would not mean much.

The Butler women’s basketball team suffered another setback yesterday, falling 49-46 at Indiana State.

The game marked the sixth straight loss for the Bulldogs (1-7). Of those six losses, five have been decided by 10 points or fewer.

The Sycamores (5-3) got off to a quick start, taking an 8-1 lead after the first five minutes.

However, Butler freshman forward Haley Howard and junior forward Becca Bornhorst accounted for the Bulldogs’ next 13 points, pulling Butler within two.

Howard scored a game-high 17 points.

Photo by Maria Porter

Bornhorst, in her third game back after an injury, posted 14 points in 22 minutes of work, including a 3-pointer before halftime to cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to just one.

“We’ve made progress in areas we’ve been working on,” Bornhorst said, “such as boxing out and having ball pressure on defense. We just have yet to play a full 40 minutes being completely focused on the little things.”

Butler focused on those little things in the second half and appeared primed to snap its losing streak, leading 44-43 with 2:31 remaining.

But, four straight Indiana State free throws gave the Sycamores a three-point lead.

Trailing 49-46 with just four seconds remaining, senior guard Devin Brierly misfired on the front end of a one-and-one. Bornhorst’s ensuing 3-pointer fell off the mark, allowing the Sycamores to pick up their third consecutive win.

“You certainly don’t want to be [1-7], but when you look on the tape and on the floor, I feel like our players are getting better,” coach Beth Couture said. “Our kids are playing really hard right now, but we’re just making a lot of mistakes.”

Three days earlier, the Bulldogs fell to the Bowling Green Falcons 71-61. Butler trailed by just five at halftime, but the Falcons (5-2) pulled away, leading by as many as 17 points in the second half.

Freshman guard Hannah Douglas led Butler with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Douglas also pulled down a team-best five rebounds.

“We asked Hannah to be more aggressive and look to score,” Couture said. “She and all of our freshmen are bright spots. It’s just a matter of getting them all on the same page at the same time.”

The Bulldogs will host Ball State this Friday at 7 p.m. in Hinkle Fieldhouse.

An offensive attack of 20 unanswered points during the third quarter was too much for the Butler football team on Saturday, as the Bulldogs fell to Indiana State 48-34 at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute.

The outburst by the Sycamores (1-1) thwarted Butler’s hopes of bringing home a win in the first meeting between the two squads in 37 years.

Indiana State found the end zone early, scoring a touchdown within the first two minutes in the game.

The Bulldogs (1-1) responded when senior wide receiver Jeff Larsen scored on a 19-yard pass from freshman running back Brandon Grubbe, tying the game 7-7.

In the second quarter, Butler grabbed the lead with a 30-yard field goal by senior kicker David Lang. Lang scored 10 points in the Bulldogs’ loss and was named Pioneer Football League Player of the Week.

“They expected to push us over, and we were not going to roll over just because they are a big school,” Butler sophomore cornerback Kevin Cook said. “We kind of went in there with a chip on our shoulder.”
The Sycamores soon took back the lead with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore wide receiver Leonard Riston.

The Bulldogs were not behind for long though, thanks to a 4-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Andrew Huck to senior wide receiver Jordan Koopman.

Photo by Rachel Senn

The Sycamores outscored the Bulldogs 7-3 in the final two minutes of the first half.

“We went toe-to-toe with them and competed,” Butler head coach Jeff Voris said.  “It should give us the confidence that we can play with anyone if we play together, play as a team and trust each other.”

Indiana State came out strong in the second half with two touchdowns in less than six minutes. The Sycamores posted 20 points in the third quarter while the Bulldogs went scoreless.

“We came out a bit sluggish after the half and Indiana State took advantage of that,” Cook said.
Butler fought back with two touchdown passes by Huck in the fourth quarter, but Indiana State’s offensive onslaught in the third quarter proved to be too much.

The Bulldogs finished with 429 offensive yards, while the Sycamores had 456.

Junior linebacker Ridley led Butler defensively with 12 tackles. Ridley also forced a fumble in the game.

“We learn more from a loss than a win,” freshman cornerback Jimmy Schwabe said. “As a resilient team, we are going to bounce back and learn from our mistakes so we can get a win.”

The Bulldogs will hit the road again to take on Taylor Saturday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m.

Butler beat the Trojans (2-0) last season 28-20.