• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Smith, Wisconsin-Milwaukee upset Butler

Feb 19, 2009 - 6:46 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Butler just can't seem to lock up the Horizon League title.

Avery Smith scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Wisconsin-Milwaukee handed the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs their second straight upset loss with a 63-60 victory on Wednesday.

James Eayrs chipped in 15 points and Ricky Franklin added 11 with seven boards for the Panthers (15-11, 10-6 Horizon), who snapped a three-game losing streak.

"It's big, knowing who they are and how they beat us last time," UWM coach Rob Jeter said referring to a 78-48 thrashing from Butler on January 24. "I think it's big for everybody associated with the program."

Matt Howard finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for Butler (22-4, 13-3), which failed to secure a share of the conference title for the second consecutive contest. The Bulldogs were handed a 71-67 setback to Loyola of Chicago on Sunday.

Butler had not lost consecutive contests since January 2006, a span of 111 games. It was the third-longest such streak in Division I basketball.

Freshman Shelvin Mack connected on a 3-pointer with 1:36 remaining to cut Butler's deficit to 61-60, but the team failed to score again from that point.

After making his first free throw on the ensuing possession, Eayrs missed his second to leave the door open for the Bulldogs. But Mack, who finished with 11 points, had the ball taken away from him by Smith with 45 seconds left.

"We just wanted to let the defense make the statement of the game and show we weren't going to back down," Smith said.

With Butler needing a defensive stop to have a chance, Milwaukee's Tone Boyle missed a layup with 10 ticks to play but grabbed his own rebound. Franklin made one of his two free throws with six seconds remaining, and the Bulldogs did not get off a final shot.

Freshman Gordon Hayward passed the ball to Willie Veasley behind the baseline and the clock may have started before Veasley inbounded the ball to Zach Hahn, who failed to take a shot before the buzzer.

"I don't know what happened there," Jeter said. "It was so crazy. I just wanted the game to be over."

Officials looked at a replay but ruled the game was over after failing to determine if the clock started early.

"The referees went and did what they were supposed to do," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "They went and looked at the monitor, and there was no way to look at the clock."

The Panthers, who shot just 35 percent (20-of-58) from the field, forced 14 turnovers and collected 10 offensive boards.