DAYTON, Ohio -- Darnell Archey scored 17 points and led a second-half
surge that swept Butler to a 78-52 victory Saturday over Loyola of Chicago in
the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament.
Butler (21-7), the tournament's top seed, will play host to Wright State
(18-10) in the semifinals Sunday. The tournament champion gets an automatic
NCAA Tournament bid.
Archey made a pair of 3-pointers and two more baskets as Butler opened the
second half with a 23-5 run and wasn't threatened again. Brandon Miller added
14 points, Joel Cornette had 11 and LaVall Jordan scored 10.
Loyola (7-21) had 22 turnovers and got only five points from its bench.
David Bailey led Loyola with 21 points, 17 of them in the first half as the
Ramblers stayed close.
Bailey had a three-point play and a layup that cut Butler's lead to 32-27 at
halftime. He managed only one basket and two free throws in the second half as
Butler pulled away.
The Bulldogs led by as many as 29 points in the second half, when they shot
61 percent from the field and had seven steals. Game summary
Jesse Deister's 3-pointer with 36 seconds left rallied
Wright State to a narrow victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Playing on its home floor, Wright State (18-10) trailed for all but 11 minutes of
the game. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (15-13) led by as many as eight points in the
second half and was up 54-49 with 7:45 to play.
Deister scored 14 of his 16 points in the half, rallying the Raiders. The
game was tied four times before Chad Angeli's two free throws put
Wisconsin-Milwaukee ahead 63-61 with 1:37 to play.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee then got the ball back on a turnover, but Clay Tucker
missed a 3-point attempt with one minute to go. Following a 30-second timeout,
Deister hit a 3-pointer for the final margin.
Rashad Phillips scored 23 points to lead Detroit to
the victory over Wisconsin-Green Bay in the quarterfinals.
Detroit (21-9) will play Cleveland State in Sunday's semifinals. Host Wright State (18-10) will play top-seeded Butler
(21-7) in the other semifinal game.
Terrell Riggs had 14 points and Mike Harmon 10 for Detroit. DeVante Blanks led Wisconsin-Green Bay (11-17) with 14.
A 3-pointer by Greg Grays gave Detroit the lead for good 11 minutes into the game, and Detroit led 35-30 at halftime.
Detroit built a 15-point lead early in the second half until Wisconsin-Green Bay challenged with a 16-3 run to pull within 57-55 with 4:35 to go. Blanks started the run with a pair of 3-pointers, hit another midway through and ended
it with a basket for 11 points in that six-minute surge.
But Detroit pulled away again with a basket and a pair of free throws by
Phillips and baskets by Harmon and Riggs.
Jamaal Harris' 3-pointer with one second left gave Cleveland State the victory over Illinois-Chicago in the quarterfinals.
Cleveland State (19-12) will play Detroit (21-9), and host Wright State (18-10) will play top-seeded Butler (21-7) in Sunday's semifinals.
Harris finished with 20 points, and Theo Dixon had 22 for Cleveland State. Taurus Cook had 21 -- including eight in the final 1:19 -- and Jon-Pierre Mitchom added 13
and Joe Scott 10 for Illinois-Chicago (11-17).
The score was tied seven times in the first half, with Cleveland State leading 27-24 at halftime on a 3-pointer by Dixon with 1:19 left.
Cleveland State opened the second half with an 6-2 run to forge the biggest lead of the night by either team. Andre Williams had a basket and two free throws during that run.
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