Box Score UNO-Butler Box Score
Post-Game Press Conference (Slessinger)
INDIANAPOLIS – A seven minute stretch of play that started late in the first half provided No. 17 Butler the window of opportunity it needed in defeating New Orleans 57-44 before 7,076 fans at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
With the game tied 15-all with 4:04 remaining in the opening half, Butler (12-2) scored nine of the final 12 points before the break. The Bulldogs opened the second half scoring 8 of 10 to grab a 32-20 lead over UNO (3-10) before three minutes had passed.
The 17-4 run changed the course of the game for Butler, which received 15 points from Kellen Dunham to lead all scorers. Kyhle Marshall added 13 points for the Bulldogs, who pushed their advantage to a game-high 16 points in the final minute before a
Lovell Cook three-pointer provided the final score for the Privateers.
Cook's three-pointer provided the junior forward with a team-high 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting. In the final half, the Privateers pulled within eight points at 40-32 during a 7-2 run capped by
Tradarrius McPhearson three-pointer with 10:21 remaining.
McPhearson's three-pointer accounted for three of a career-high matching 10 points for the junior guard while also providing the smallest deficit for UNO following the Butler spurt earlier in the half.
Prior to the game-altering run, the UNO proved to be ungracious visitors.
The Privateers held Butler to a season-low 24 points in the first half while forcing the hosts into eight turnovers during the same stretch. UNO led on three different occasions; including a 2-0 advantage on a
Rarlensee Nelson basket after Butler opened the contest shooting 0-for-3 from the field with two turnovers.
The hosts continued their offensive woes, connecting on just 2 of 11 shots from the field with seven turnovers over the course of the first 10 minutes. UNO's final lead of the game came on a
Maurice County jumper with 6:22 remaining in the opening half, providing the Privateers a 13-11 edge.
UNO will visit San Jose State on Tuesday at 9 p.m. CT for the team's final contest of a six-game stretch on the road. The Privateers defeated San Jose State 72-68 in a memorable season opener between the two teams on Nov. 9 at Lakefront Arena.
NOTES
The 24 points scored by Butler in the first half were a season-low for the Bulldogs, one point less than the 25 scored in the opening 20 minutes against Vanderbilt on Dec. 29, 2012.
Naismith Watch List member Rotnei Clarke was held to a season-low four points. Clarke shot 1 of 7 from the field against the Privateer defense. Clarke, who scored a career-high 51 points against Alcorn State in 2009 had a previous low of six against Penn on Jan. 2, 2013.
Tradarrius McPhearson's double-figure performance for UNO was his first since scoring 10 points against Nicholls State in a victory at Lakefront Arena on Dec. 12, 2012.
UNO's
Isaac Mack received his third start of the season, getting the opportunity to do so in his hometown of Indianapolis. Mack played prep basketball at nearby Arsenal Tech before playing two seasons at Panola (Texas) JC.
Mack's friends and family accounted for some of the roughly 100 Privateer fans in attendance at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday, joining friends and family from fellow Indiana natives
Mark Slessinger (Bloomington) and
Kris Arkenberg (Trafalgar).
Saturday's game represented UNO's first against a ranked Division I opponent since the Privateers defeated then No. 21 North Carolina State 65-63 in Raleigh, N.C. According to available records, UNO had six wins over nationally-ranked opponents highlighted by a win over No. 12 Florida State on Feb. 21, 1989.
