INDIANAPOLIS - Butler University did not stray far from its comfort zone against the Ball State University men's basketball team Wednesday night as the Cardinals lost 65-54 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
With Ball State focused early on Butler's 6-foot-8-inch Matt Howard by double-teaming the center, the Bulldogs were left with several open options beyond the 3-point line, including Butler's Garrett Butcher, who was three-for-four from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs hit nine 3-pointers in the game.
"They made nine 3's for the game, but we had to take away something," coach Billy Taylor said. "Butcher stepped up and made 3's in the first half, and I thought the 3's they got in the second half were more out of transition than from dribble penetration more than actually breaking down our post traps."
In the 100th all-time meeting between the in-state rival schools, Butler (2-0) improved its overall record against the Cardinals to 63-37. Ball State has a five-game losing streak to the Bulldogs and hasn't won a game in Hinkle Fieldhouse since the 1996 season.
"Tonight was a tough game for our guys in our first road opportunity," Taylor said. "We had some moments where we played some good basketball, and we have some other moments where we didn't play that well."
The Cardinals (1-1) began the game with a 10-4 lead halfway through the first half as Butler shot one-for-nine behind the arc. The Bulldogs then came back to tie the game at 10 on a fast break layup from freshman guard Gordon Hayward.
Butler led the remainder of the half, but a dunk by senior forward Anthony Newell via a pass from senior guard Laron Frazier and the Bulldog foul on the play cut the lead to 28-24. Then, a putback from junior forward Eric Wormely as time expired in the half cut the Butler lead to 31-29.
"[The dunk] kind of gave us a little energy, as you saw, we came back and were down [two] going into halftime, so we definitely had a little momentum going into the half," said Newell, who had 10 points at halftime.
The Cardinals were unable to take advantage of the momentum, however, as Butler began the second half with a 9-0 run, and Ball State only came as close as eight points with two minutes remaining in the game.
"We definitely have to come out better," Newell said. "We've got to come out of halftime with a little more energy, a little more poise, and try to get that lead."
Taylor said Ball State's 16 turnovers to Butler's six were a major contributor to the result of the game.
"One of the things that hurt us was the beginning of the second half going five or six minutes without scoring a basket, so [there is] a two-point game, lead balloons, and now we've got a huge gap to fill in a short amount of time," Taylor said. "During that stretch, we had a lot of turnovers - we had too many turnovers tonight, period."
Newell had his 13th career double-double for Ball State by leading all scorers with 17 points and a season-best 11 rebounds. Freshman Jarrod Jones also had his second-straight double-double to open his career by adding 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Frazier had 10 points in his second start this season, while senior guard Brandon Lampley had eight.
For Butler, Howard had a team-high 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Hayward and Butcher each added nine points.
The Cardinals return to Worthen Arena on Saturday for a 2 p.m. matchup with Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
Team comparison
| BSU | Butler | |
| 55 | Score | 64 |
| 22-52 | Field goals | 21-54 |
| 42.3% | Field goal % | 38.9% |
| 4-12 | 3-pointers | 9-26 |
| 38 | Rebounds | 28 |
| 11 | Assists | 14 |
| 16 | Turnovers | 6 |
2004: Butler def. Ball State 74-682005: Butler def. Ball State 64-532006: Butler def. Ball State 65-412007: Butler def. Ball State 61-452008: Butler def. Ball State 64-55
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