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Howard, Butler aim for eight straight win

Jan 12, 2008 - 2:19 PM Wisc Milwaukee (9-7) at No. 14 Butler (15-1) 2:00 pm EST

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Freshman Matt Howard and Mike Green will try and help No. 14 Butler to its best start in school history when it hosts Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a Horizon League contest on Saturday.

Howard scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half, while Green tallied 14 of his 18 in the second half as the Bulldogs held off Wisconsin-Green Bay, 74-65, on Thursday.

Normally a good 3-point shooting team at 40.6 percent (145-of-357), Butler shot just 3-of-19 from the arc. So it used its inside game to secure the win as Howard shot 12-of-15 from the floor, while Green was 8-of-13.

In addition to that, the Bulldog have managed to win seven straight games despite the continued poor play of senior guard A.J. Graves.

Graves, who averages 14.9 points, has scored just 20 points on 8-of-27 from the floor the past two games.

Butler (15-1, 4-1 Horizon) will look to surpass the school's previous best start set in 2002-03.

Meanwhile, the Panthers (9-7, 4-2), who have won six straight. Deion James scored 20 points off the bench as Wisconsin-Milwaukee rallied for a 71-69 win over Valparaiso on Thursday.