COLLEGE BASKETBALL

• Ramblers try to cool off red-hot Bulldogs

  
  

  Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - The red-hot Butler Bulldogs continue their run at a perfect Horizon League campaign tonight, as they host the Loyola Chicago Ramblers at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

  The Bulldogs are enjoying another terrific season at 20-4 and on Saturday they continued their winning ways with a 74-62 besting of Wright State. The victory improved Butler to a school-record 13-0 in conference play and a win tonight would already guarantee the program at least a share of the HL title. The Bulldogs have also won 12 straight games overall, marking the fourth-longest streak in school history.

  Loyola meanwhile, suffered a narrow 59-56 defeat on Saturday to Cleveland State. It was the fifth loss in six games for the Ramblers, who are now just 4-9 in league play after going 9-1 against non-conference opponents.

  As for the all-time series, Butler leads Loyola 47-30 and that includes a close 48-47 decision in a meeting just last month.

  A late 15-2 run by Cleveland State sent Loyola to a narrow 59-56 loss on its home floor this past Saturday. It was a tough ending for the Ramblers, who had 13 turnovers that resulted in 17 points for the Vikings. Ben Averkamp and Terrance Hill each scored 12 points to pace the team in defeat, while Walt Gibler had 11 and eight boards. On the season, Hill is the squad's leading scorer with 11.6 ppg and he is also collecting 4.5 rpg. Gibler, who does his damage coming off the bench, follows with 11.2 ppg and he too is solid on the boards, grabbing 5.2 rpg.

  The Bulldogs shot an unconscious 67.5 percent from the floor and went 16-of-18 at the foul line, as they downed Wright State over the weekend. Leading the way was Willie Veasley, who tallied a career-high 19 points on a perfect 9- of-9 shooting from the floor. Matt Howard tacked on 12 points and five boards, while Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack had 11 and 10 points, respectively. On the season, Hayward tops the roster in both scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg) and he also has 28 steals to his name. Mack adds 14.5 ppg and 3.2 apg to the mix, while Howard contributes 11.1 ppg and 5.2 rpg. Veasley rounds out the double-digit scorers, with 10.0 ppg.

  02/08 10:39:20 ET