UW-Milwaukee fell behind early and couldn’t play catchup, falling to Butler 59-44 in the Horizon League Championship game in Milwaukee.
The Bulldogs sprinted to a 17-6 lead and had a comfortable lead at the break. The Panthers then made a run in the second half and narrowed the gap to three points with 9:45 to play. The Bulldogs re-asserted themselves from there and pulled away for the win.
AUDIO: Butler’s Brad Stevens on his teams resiliency to meet the Panthers charge :17
Matt Howard scored 18 points and was named the Horizon League tournament MVP for a second straight season. Howard became the first player in Horizon League history to earn All-Tournament Team honors in each of his four years.
Milwaukee will likely head for the NIT as the automatic bid representative of the Horizon League, learning its destination on ESPNU at 8pm Sunday. Butler will be among the 68 teams challenging for the NCAA Championship and will learn its seeding on Sunday on CBS.
AUDIO: Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter looking forward to continuing play :17