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Howard powers Butler into Horizon finals

Mar 8, 2009 - 5:52 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Matt Howard scored 24 points on Saturday, leading No. 22 Butler to a 62-57 victory over Wright State in the Horizon League tournament semifinals.

Zach Hahn added 11 points for the Bulldogs (26-4), who will host Cleveland State in Tuesday's final.

Butler led by four at the break but started to create a cushion with a 14-4 run that spanned over nine minutes, giving the Bulldogs a 53-42 lead with under eight minutes remaining. Shelvin Mack capped the burst with a 3-pointer.

Wright State scored the next six points to cut the deficit to five and eventually pulled with 58-56 on N'Gai Evans' 3-pointer with 1:10 to play.

After freshman Gordon Hayward made one free throw for the Bulldogs, Evans and Todd Brown each missed potential game-tying 3-pointers for the Raiders. Howard sealed the game with a pair from the line with six seconds to play.

Cory Cooperwood scored 11 points to pace Wright State (20-13).