Feb. 24, 2003
CLEVELAND - Fighting back from 10 down in regulation, Cleveland State forced Butler into double overtime Monday night at Goodman Arena before succumbing to the Bulldogs 79-75 in a Horizon League contest.
Tied at 68-all going into the second OT, the Viking opened up a four-point lead on a putback by Jonathan Burge (Cleveland, Ohio/South) and a 15-foot jumper by Percell Coles (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz). A pair of 3-pointers by BU's Darnell Archey, the second with 2:09 left, allowed the Bulldogs to take the lead at 74-72. Coles answered with a trey with 1:44 remaining to regain the Viking lead, 75-74, before Brandon Miller fired in a 25-footer from the top of the key to put Butler back on top, 77-74, at 1:11.
A CSU turnover was followed by a Miller miss, giving the Vikings another chance with 17 seconds left. Coles' jumper, though, missed the mark and the rebound was batted to almost mid-court where Miller picked it up and was fouled. Miller, who finished with a game-high 23 points, sank both free throws for the game's final scoring margin.
With the victory, Butler (22-4) regains a share of the Horizon League lead at 12-2 with UW-Milwaukee. CSU falls to 8-20, 3-12.
In regulation, the Vikings trailed 50-40 with 11:13 left but used a 14-0 run over the next seven minutes to take a 54-50 lead at the 4:25 mark on a 3-pointer by Coles. The Vikes were up by six, 60-54, with 46 seconds remaining but BU freshman Avery Sheets scored a trey on a broken play to pull the Bulldogs within three, 60-57, with 37 seconds left.
Burge missed a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left and Butler capitalized with a Miller lay-up with 0:07 showing to cut the lead to 60-59. The Bulldogs fouled Coles immediately and the sophomore, a 94.7 percent free throw shooter, split the pair for a 61-59 advantage. However, Miller tied the game with a jumper from the left elbow as time expired.
Niakate led Cleveland State with 22 points while Coles popped in 17 and Burge added 12. Butler also got 14 points apiece from Duane Lightfoot and Sheets.
The Vikings outrebounded the Bulldogs 35-29 as Badiane pulled down 11 caroms. Joel Cornette led Butler with nine boards.
Badiane also blocked seven shots to tie CSU's single-game standard, also held by Brian Parker (vs. Slippery Rock, 11-26-99) and Gale Drummer (vs. Wichita State, 12-29-72). His effort also raised his season total to 57, giving him the second-best single-season mark in school history behind teammate Tahric Gosley's 64 (2000-01).
Both teams shot well as CSU connected on 50.9 percent (27-of-53) and Butler hit 50.8 percent (33-of-65) from the floor.
