No. 11 Butler holds on to survive Aces’ late charge 64-60

No. 11 Butler hangs on to flush Aces 64-60

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Shelvin Mack scored 17 points and Gordon Hayward added 15, including a game-sealing free throw with 3.6 seconds left, to preserve No. 11 Butler’s 64-60 win at Evansville on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (3-0) won their second road game of the week. Butler has now won 13 in a row over Indiana schools and 23 straight in November, dating to 2006.

But the Bulldogs nearly blew it after taking a 53-40 lead with 3:36 left.

Evansville’s Colt Ryan scored 12 of his 17 points in the final minute to get the Aces (2-1) within 62-60 with 16.8 seconds left and after Mack made 1 of 2 free throws, the Aces had a chance to tie it.

But Ryan’s 3 was off the mark, and Hayward answered by making 1 of 2 free throws to seal it.

It was an ugly night for both teams.

Butler, normally a strong shooting team, was 14 of 50 from the field and 5 of 18 from 3-point range. Hayward, Butler’s top scorer, delivered the first two baskets for the Bulldogs then didn’t make another one all night.

Evansville had other problems. It shot 38.2 percent from the game but didn’t make a 3 until Ryan began his run in the final minute. The Aces also committed 34 fouls and had 15 turnovers.

The combination was tough to watch.

After Evansville took a 14-12 lead midway through the half, Mack finally got the Bulldogs into a semblance of offensive rhythm by hitting a 17-footer on a fast break and Butler’s first 3 of the game to end a 7-0 run that gave the Bulldogs a 19-14 lead.

And despite playing its worst half of the season, Butler still led 27-20.

Things were just as tough in the second half.

Butler opened by missing more shots, running the streak to 14 in a row at one point. But Mack’s 3 with 17:03 to go gave Butler a 32-24 lead with 17:03 to go.

After extending the lead to 35-24, though, Evansville charged back with a 13-2 spurt to close to 37-33 with 11:46 left.

Butler countered that with the 12-4 run that seemingly put it away.

But Ryan had other thoughts. He hit the Aces’ first 3 of the game with 59.8 seconds left and two more to make it close.

Matt Howard had 10 points and 13 rebounds.