Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Senior Colt Ryan scored a season-high 25 points but No. 19 Butler fended off a late rally to down the University of Evansville by a 75-67 final on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
Facing a 13-point deficit with 3:04 to go, Evansville (7-5) made a furious rally to cut the Butler (9-2) lead to just four before the Bulldogs were able to escape with the win.
 
Ryan led all scorers with 25 tallies while Ned Cox checked in with 12.  Sophomore Ryan Sawvell finished the day with 10 points, marking the third game in a row he has registered double figures.  It is the second time in his career he has accomplished that feat.
 
Evansville got off to a 4-0 lead, hitting its first two shots as Egidijus Mockevicius and Ryan had buckets in the opening minute of play.  Following a trey by Rotnei Clarke, the Aces scored the next five to jump out to a 9-3 lead.
 
Butler found its stroke, reeling off the next to tie the game up before eventually taking its first lead at 17-15 as Roosevelt Jones hit a layup.  The Bulldogs kept the rally going as their lead would reach as many as nine at 30-21 inside of five minutes remaining in the period.  Kellen Dunham hit three free throws to extend the edge.
 
Colt Ryan made a pivotal bucket for UE, connecting on a 4-point play as UE would cut the halftime deficit to just four points.  Ryan Sawvell, who had a team-high of 8 points in the half, scored before Ned Cox hit a pair of free throws to make it a 35-31 game in favor of the Bulldogs at the half.
 
Following the break, UE was able to get the Bulldog lead down to two on a pair of occasions, but the Bulldogs quickly pushed the advantage to seven by the first media timeout just over four minutes into the half.
 
As has been the case the last two years, Evansville faced a double-digit deficit and was able to make its way back.  Butler pushed its lead up to 12 tallies at 48-36 before the Aces made their push.  UE scored 7 in a row as the deficit quickly dropped to five midway through the second frame.  On several occasions, the Aces had open looks at field goals that would have gotten the Butler lead back down to a possession, but each fell short as the Bulldogs extended the lead back into double figures.
 
Inside of ten minutes left, BU saw its lead go back up to 11 at 56-45 before UE scored the next four, but BU was able to slowly put the game out of reach as Clarke’s three with 4:29 remaining gave the Bulldogs a 64-50 lead.
 
Down 68-55 with three minutes left, Evansville made one last rally.  The Aces went on a 12-3 run to cut the gap to just four points, but a pair of free throws by Andrew Smith pushed the lead back to six before Clarke hit two free throws of his own to finish off the 75-67 win.
 
Clarke and Smith each led the Bulldogs with 20 points while Dunham tallied 13.  The Bulldogs shot 49% for the game while the defense held UE to a 41% final.  Neither team shot well from three-point range as UE was 4-of-15 while Butler was 4-for-16.
 
The Bulldogs finished with a 39-29 rebounding edge, led by Kameron Woods’ total of 12.  Sawvell and Troy Taylor notched six apiece for the Aces.
 
Missouri Valley Conference play is set to begin in just seven days as the Purple Aces make the trip to Omaha, Neb. to face nationally-ranked Creighton.  The Aces and Bluejays are set to square off on Dec. 29 at 7:05 p.m.