• Recap
• Bleachers

No. 16 Butler flattens Ball State

Nov 21, 2010 - 1:59 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Shelvin Mack scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds while Matt Howard supplied 16 points and 10 boards as 16th-ranked Butler downed Ball State, 88-55.

Shawn Vanzant added 11 points for the Bulldogs (2-1), who bounced back from a loss at Louisville on Tuesday to beat the Cardinals for their 17th straight victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

"Nobody was thrilled about the result on Tuesday, but I do think that we probably didn't play quite as poorly as it looked," Butler head coach Brad Stevens said. "I think everyone had some pride about playing better today. I told our staff at halftime that the neatest thing about this game is we know that we've got good character because we rebounded from a tough week."

Butler has defeated Ball State in seven consecutive meetings and in 10 of the last 11.

Malik Perry scored 13 points while Jarrod Jones added nine points and seven boards for the Cardinals (2-1), who had entered the game having defeated Eastern Illinois and Indiana State.

"Today was tough for us as we were playing some really good basketball leading up to this game," Ball State head coach Billy Taylor said. "We knew we were going to get a great test from a fantastic Butler team that was hungry coming off a loss. I wish we would have played better in all facets of the game. We have to find a way to have a lot more resiliency when the pressure is on us. We allowed three runs that we have to be able to avoid to be successful."

Ball State shot just 32.7 percent from the field, making only 17-of-52 shots in its seventh straight defeat at Hinkle since 1996.

Trailing 11-9, Butler ran off the next 10 points, capped by a Zach Hahn three- pointer, to take a 19-11 lead with just under 12 minutes to go in the half.

Howard made three foul shots and a layup in the midst of a 9-1 run over the final four minutes and change to give Butler a 38-20 lead at the break.

Hahn was fouled on a three-pointer and made all three shots to finish off another 9-1 burst that pushed the Bulldogs lead to 55-31 just about 5 1/2 minutes into the second half.

Garrett Butcher's tip-in shot capped a 14-0 splurge that increased the hosts' advantage to 69-38 inside eight minutes to play. The lead grew to as many as 35 in the final minutes of the lopsided affair.

Game Notes

Butler improved to 46-3 at home under Stevens, including 11 straight home wins over in-state opponents...The Bulldogs are 30-5 when Mack scores at least 14 points and 19-3 when he leads the team in scoring...Howard moved into a tie for 12th place with J.P. Brens (1989-93) on the school's all-time rebounding list with 625...The two teams have met every year since 1950.