It was there for the taking. And the crowd of 7,500 inside Hinkle Fieldhouse, the fans who did not migrate south to Houston, knew it.

Junior guard Shelvin Mack drained a 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer and sent the Bulldogs into the locker room up, 22-19.

The Butler faithful cheered wildly, recognizing that their beloved Bulldogs were a mere 20 minutes from capturing college basketball’s most heralded and elusive title: national champion.

It was certain that Butler, a team known for having strong second halves, would improve upon its 22 percent first half shooting and pull away from the UConn Huskies, righting the wrongs left by last year’s heartbreaking loss to Duke.

And then it happened—31 of Butler’s 37 second half shot attempts fell off the mark. Consequently, the Bulldogs fell out of contention, leaving Butler fans across the country stunned.

Not many people foresaw Butler advancing to its second consecutive Final Four, especially after losing sensational sophomore Gordon Hayward to the NBA Draft. Out of the 15 million households that watched the game’s telecast, no one foresaw the Bulldogs shooting 19 percent on the biggest stage in college basketball.

Seniors Matt Howard, Zach Hahn and Shawn Vanzant, playing in their final collegiate game, shot a collective 3-of-25 en route to a 53-41 loss on Monday in the national title game.

The last time the Bulldogs scored fewer points in a game was during a 51-39 loss at Wright State Jan. 3, 2004. Prior to Monday night, Butler had been held under 50 points just four times in the past seven seasons.

It was Butler’s worst performance in recent memory and it happened to come in arguably Butler’s most important game in school history.

The faces of this year’s team, Howard, Mack and head coach Brad Stevens, all remarked that the team simply could not make shots. It was clearly a disappointing and uninspiring end to what was otherwise a remarkable run.

As Howard, who ranks third on Butler’s all-time scoring list, leaves the program, the contributions of him and his fellow seniors should not be forgotten.

The 117 wins by the outgoing senior class, consisting of Howard, Hahn, Vanzant, Grant Leiendecker and Alex Anglin, is the second most of any class in Butler men’s basketball history.

Over the past four seasons, these five have helped lead the Bulldogs to four Horizon league regular season championships, three Horizon League tournament championships and four NCAA tournament appearances.

More than that, they have helped put Butler University on the map as more than just a school that perennially fields a solid basketball team, but also as an upper-echelon academic institution.

Howard, a finance major with a 3.77 GPA was named this year’s NCAA Division I Academic All-American of the Year.

Butler athletics have embodied “The Butler Way” for decades. However, these past two basketball squads, both finishing as national runners-up, have raised awareness of Butler’s mission and have elevated Butler onto the national stage as a première academic and athletic institution.

A 12-point loss in the national title game is heartbreaking, yes—almost as heartbreaking as a 2-point loss that was decided by fractions of an inch.

It might be years before another Butler team advances to a national semifinal. On the other hand, it might only be another calendar year.

Yet, some things, such as Butler’s national perception, are now here to stay.

The Butler men’s basketball team earned a share of its fifth consecutive Horizon League regular season title Saturday, when it defeated Loyola, 63-56, in front of a sold out crowd.

However, tiebreakers will send the Bulldogs (21-9, 13-5 HL) to Milwaukee as the No. 2 seed, which grants them a first- and second-round bye in the conference tournament.

The victory could have been the last home game for the 2011 senior class, which consists of guard Alex Anglin, guard Zach Hahn, forward Matt Howard, guard Grant Leiendecker and guard Shawn Vanzant.

During the past four seasons, the five seniors have helped lead the Bulldogs to four Horizon League regular season championships, two Horizon League tournament titles and three straight NCAA tournament appearances, including last year’s national runner-up finish.  Their 110 wins are the second-most by any senior class in Butler men’s basketball history.

A 7-2 Butler run just after the 13-minute mark in Saturday’s contest was capped by five straight points from junior guard Shelvin Mack, giving the Bulldogs a 14-10 lead.

The Ramblers (16-14, 7-11) responded with an 11-2 run of their own, taking a 21-16 advantage with 7:41 remaining in the first half.

Loyola held that lead until the one-minute mark when junior guard Ronald Nored scored in transition, drew a foul and attempted to convert the three-point play at the free-throw line. Nored’s free toss was off the mark, but

Howard pulled down the rebound and found a cutting Nored who laid it up and in to give Butler a 29-26 lead.

The Bulldogs would never trail again.

On the final possession of the half, Mack drained a 3-pointer as time expired to send the Bulldogs into the locker room with a 32-26 lead. Mack scored 14 first-half points and finished the game with 18, leading all scorers.

A few minutes before halftime, Butler head coach Brad Stevens, left the game to see an eye doctor.

“My vision got progressively worse as we were getting ready to start the game,” Stevens said in a press release. “By the final media timeout of the first half, I could not see the other end of the court and everything in front of me was blurry.”

Stevens was later diagnosed with a corneal edema, a condition in which the cornea swells from being overly hydrated by accumulated fluid.

Stevens recovered and returned to practice on Sunday.

Associate head coach Matthew Graves relieved Stevens in the second half and was at the helm when sophomore guard Chase Stigall put on a show.

Stigall, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored five consecutive points to start the second.

He finished with 10 points, including a momentum-shifting play near the eight-minute mark, when Loyola freshman guard Denzel Brito grabbed a defensive rebound following a missed 3-pointer by Howard.

As Stigall’s teammates hustled down the court to defend the Ramblers transition offense, Stigall snuck up behind Brito, stole the ball and converted a layup.

However, the Bulldogs needed help from a few seniors to seal the victory.

Putting Loyola’s comeback hopes further out of reach, Vanzant, who finished with 10 points, knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs up by eight, 60-52.

Hahn was able to help seal Butler’s 63-56 victory by sinking two crucial free throws in the game’s final minute.

Nored finished with eight points, and sophomore center Andrew Smith finished with six points and a game-leading 11 rebounds.

Following the game, feelings were bittersweet as the seniors said their goodbyes to the home crowd and reflected on their time at Butler University.

“Now that it’s over, it’s a little bit crazy to think that you’re never playing on Hinkle’s floor again as a Butler Bulldog,” Howard said. “We’re very appreciative of everyone that came out. We haven’t had a crowd like that all year.”

The city of Connersville, Ind., bought 1,400 tickets to see Howard, a Connersville native, put up nine points and seven rebounds in his Hinkle finale.

New Castle (Ind.) High School, alma mater of Hahn and Stigall, purchased 200 tickets for the afternoon game.

Butler will play in the Horizon League Tournament Semifinals at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Milwaukee. The Bulldogs face the winner of a Cleveland State-Wright State contest, which takes place Friday evening.

Regardless, Graves is confident that his squad is peaking at the right time.

“Heading into postseason play, the way we have been defending is encouraging,” Graves said. “We are right where we need to be.”

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

123►

Butler was dunking, Matt Howard dove into the opponent’s bench, and seven different Bulldogs scored at least eight points in Saturday’s 76-59 win against Valparaiso.

The win was Butler’s 22nd consecutive Horizon League regular season win, a new record for the conference.

And the Bulldogs (10-4, 2-0 HL), now on a six-game winning streak, will look to extend that record Monday as they begin the week’s three-game conference stretch.

Butler picked up where it left off at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu by getting multiple players involved on offense. When the opponent tried to stop a Bulldog from scoring, others scored in their stead.

The Crusaders (10-5, 2-1 HL) did their best to stop Howard from scoring, allowing him only eight points in the game, although the senior forward still managed to grab eight rebounds.

But others scored while Howard was being pressured or double-teamed.

Guard and fellow senior Zach Hahn made three-of-six 3-point shots for his nine points, and senior Shawn Vanzant and junior Ronald Nored each scored 11 on a combined eight-of-15 shooting from the field.

Freshman forward Khyle Marshall continued his stretch of improved play by scoring 10 points, making it his first double-digit performance as a Bulldog.

Junior guard Shelvin Mack led all scorers with 16 points. Mack shot four-of-eight from the field while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing out six assists.

Butler dominated both ends of the court in the first half, shooting 12-of-28 from the field and forcing nine Crusader turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Mack led the Bulldogs on offense with seven points at the half, while Nored led things on the defensive end by getting three of his four steals in the game prior to the break.

Valparaiso did not roll over for the second half, though.

The Crusaders shot six-of-14 from behind the arc after halftime and were led in that category by freshman guard Jay Harris, who had zero points in the first half and 14 in the second.

But after Valpo shaved a double-digit deficit down to five points, Butler responded with a flurry of three-pointers and finally a perfect eight-for-eight free throw shooting to close out the game.

Butler’s first of three Horizon League games in the coming week is at Milwaukee (7-8, 2-2 HL) at 8 p.m. EDT.