Jan. 13, 2012
Contact: Greg Murphy
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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Cleveland State stormed out to a 20-4 lead early in the first half and used four players in double figures to claim a 76-69 victory over Butler on Friday night in Hinkle Fieldhouse.
CSU improved to 15-3 overall and 5-1 in the Horizon League, while the Bulldogs fell to 9-9 overall and 3-3 in league play.
The win snapped a five-game win streak in the series for Butler and was also CSU's first win in Hinkle Fieldhouse since the Vikings defeated Butler in the 2009 Horizon League Championship game.
Jeremy Montgomery led four Vikings in double figures with 18 points, hitting 3-of-5 from three-point and adding five assists. Tim Kamczyc scored 17 points with five rebounds, while Trey Harmon scored 12 points and Anton Grady added 11 points and eight rebounds in just 13 minutes due to foul trouble.
The game started much like last year's game at Butler, only this time, it was CSU that blitzed Butler, taking a 20-4 lead on a Grady layup with 12:39 left in the half. It capped a 20-1 run after Chase Stigall opened the game with a three-pointer.
The Bulldogs answered CSU's opening punch with seven straight points to pull back within 20-11 less than two minutes later and would eventually get within 26-22 at the 5:22 mark on a free throw by Roosevelt Jones.
Butler was able to stay close in the first half thanks to its three-point shooting and free throws. The Bulldogs went 6-of-12 from three-point and 13-of-21 from the free throw line, hitting just one two point basket in the first 20 minutes.
Luda Ndaye hit his third career three-pointer at the 5:09 mark to stop the Butler run and push CSU's lead back to seven points (29-22), but the Bulldogs closed the half on an 11-6 run, capped by a three-pointer by Andrew Smith with six seconds left and went into the locker room down just two points (35-33).
The Vikings had to overcome foul trouble throughout the first half as six players, including four starters, all had two fouls. It was a theme throughout the game as CSU was called for 29 fouls with Butler going 25-of-42 from the line.
CSU went 18-of-23 with many of the charity tosses coming in the final minute.
A bucket by Khyle Marshall opened the second half scoring and tied the game at 35-35, but Kamczyc answered with a three-pointer on the other end and following a Butler free throw, Kamczyc's layup put CSU back up by four points (40-36).
However, Ronald Nored hit a three-pointer and Smith sank two free throws to give Butler its first lead of the contest (41-40) since the first basket.
It would be the last lead for the Bulldogs as Montgomery nailed a jumper to start a 9-1 run that was capped by a Montgomery three-pointer and two free throws from Kamczyc that gave CSU a 49-42 lead with 13:34 left.
Butler clawed back within three points (51-48) on an alley-oop dunk by Marshall with 11:56 left, but Montgomery answered on the other end with a three-pointer, the first of eight straight CSU points, to push the Viking lead back to 11 points (59-48) with 8:18 left.
The Vikings maintained a seven point lead, but the Bulldogs made things interesting down the stretch, hitting three consecutive three-pointers in the span of 40 seconds, pulling within 72-69 with 22 seconds left. However, Harmon made two free throws after the quick foul and another desperation three-pointer by Butler was off.
CSU posted a 32-30 advantage on the glass and scored 22 points off Butler's 13 turnovers.
The Vikings shot .481 (25-52) from the field and 8-of-21 (.381) from three-point. Butler made just seven two-point field goals, finishing 17-of-42 (.405) from the floor and 10-of-21 (.476) from three-point.
The Vikings conclude their two-game swing through Indiana on Sunday when CSU heads to Valparaiso for a 2:35 p.m. EST contest.
