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The Butler Bulldogs are back in the win column with a win over Youngstown State.
The Butler Bulldogs continue to struggle inside and outside of the Horizon League, and as the season draws closer to its end, they've still got a ways to go to really compete. They're sitting at sixth in the rankings, but they are taking on No. 3 in the conference on Thursday, when they face Youngstown State. Butler lost in their last outing, but picked up a win before that. Unfortunately, they had two losing skids of two games in January, with a three-game winning streak wedged between them.
They'll look to get back in the win column after dropping their most recent outing to the Detroit Titans 65-61. Youngstown won't be an easy win though, as they look to launch a winning streak with a dominating win in their last outing. They've exchanged wins and losses in their last five outings.
Butler will need to stop Youngstown from sinking those three-pointers, as they rank fifth in the NCAA in 3s per game and 29th in percentage. Butler ranked just 335th in that regard, in the bottom twenty of all teams in the NCAA. Still, Youngstown is just 2-20 against Butler since joining Horizon and that has to be a good sign.
The game is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and you can catch it on ESPN3.
Butler Vs. Youngstown State Final Score: Bulldogs Earn 68-59 Road Win Over Penguins
The Butler Bulldogs hit the road for a pair of tough games in Northeast Ohio after losing three of their last four games, but it was the Bulldogs who were tough on Thursday night, putting away a hard-earned 68-59 road win over the Youngstown State Penguins.
The Bulldogs took control of the game late in the first half as reserve guard Jackson Aldridge hit a pair of three-pointers to fuel a 9-1 run and push Butler to a double-digit lead at halftime. Butler held on in the second half as Youngstown State rallied to cut the lead to four points before Crishawn Hopkins went to work for Butler to put the game away.
Hopkins scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the second half, flashing all of his ability by scoring inside and out. Forward Roosevelt Jones added 11 points and 9 rebounds to go along with Jackson's 15 points off the bench.
Brad Stevens must have emphasized rebounding for his Butler team as they delivered with a 40-24 rebound advantage which included 11 boards for point guard Ronald Nored.
Youngstown State guard Kendrick Perry led all scoreres with 23 points.
The win moved the two teams into a tie for fourth place in the Horizon League with matching 8-6 conference records.
Feb 09 10:22p by Tom Lewis