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Campbell, Graves help Butler hold on

Feb 10, 2008 - 6:11 AM GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (Ticker) -- Pete Campbell finished with 12 points and made a pair of critical 3-pointers down the stretch as 11th-ranked Butler held on for a 62-57 victory over Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday night in a Horizon League matchup.

A.J. Graves scored 16 points and Mike Green added 14 with seven rebounds, six assists and four steals for the Bulldogs (21-2, 10-2 Horizon), who have won five consecutive contests.

"They're a very seasoned and talented and tough team but tonight I thought we let them off the hook a little bit," Phoenix coach Tod Kowalczyk said.

Terry Evans capped an 8-0 run by Wisconsin-Green Bay that cut the deficit to just two points with 4:18 left, but Campbell knocked down a pair of shots from the arc to give Butler a 55-47 edge with 2:49 to play.

"Pete is a really good shooter," Green said. "But all our guys, they miss a couple, you've got to keep throwing them the ball because you know it's coming. Once they hit one then they get going."

Graves then went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 90 seconds to secure the victory for the Bulldogs, who have now won eight straight meetings with the Phoenix (13-10, 7-6).

Butler shot just 39 percent (21-of-54) from the field and 8-of-32 (25 percent) from the arc. It overcame the poor shooting performance by forcing 15 turnovers.

Evans' 3-pointer with 15:15 left in the contest gave Wisconsin-Green Bay a 29-26 lead, but Butler responded with a 9-0 run and refused to relinquish the lead from that point.

After Graves tied the contest with a shot from the arc, Green gave the Bulldogs the lead with a three-point play and Campbell capped the burst with a three.

"I thought Mike did a great job attacking," Bulldogs coach Brad Stevens said. "He got the ball in the middle of the paint and either made plays for himself and made plays for others."

The Phoenix cut the deficit to 41-37 on Mike Schachtner's 3-pointer with 10:17 left, but Julian Betko and Green each knocked down a shot from the arc to provide the Bulldogs with a 10-point advantage with 8:49 to play.

Evans scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while Ryan Tillema added 14 and seven for Wisconsin-Green Bay, which shot 45 percent (23-of-51).

Schachtner, who entered the game leading the Phoenix with 17.2 points per game, was held to nine points and nine rebounds.