Horizon League Notebook
Detroit senior guard Brandon Cotton has left the Titans’ basketball team, coach Perry Watson announced Nov. 16.
“Brandon remains in school and he is on schedule to graduate in December,” Watson said in a statement released by the university. “We wish him well in the future.”
Cotton was suspended Nov. 1 by Watson for “conduct detrimental to the team,” but was reinstated Nov. 9. Cotton did not play in either of the Titans’ first two games this season.
Cotton becomes the second big name in the Horizon League to leave a team. UW-Milwaukee’s Avery Smith was dismissed from the team shortly before the season began for what was believed to be a violation of team rules.
Cotton transferred to Detroit from Michigan State midway through his freshman season. In his three years at Detroit, he was selection to the All-Horizon League second team in each season. He finishes his career with 1,464 points, good for 13th on the school’s all-time list.
Player of the week: Cedric Jackson, Cleveland State. Jackson averaged 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists in four games.
Butler Bulldogs (3-0 overall)
Week record: 2-0
Recap
Nov. 14 vs. Indiana State – A.J. Graves scored 26 points to lead Butler past in-state rival Indiana State 76-48.
Graves was 8-of-12 shooting for the game, including making six three-pointers. Mike Green had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Pete Campbell added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Jay Tunnell and Gabriel Moore each scored 10 points for Indiana State, who gave Butler its first loss last season and had won the previous three meetings.
For the game, the Bulldogs shot 53 percent from the field, including 12-of-23 on three-pointers.
Nov. 17 at Evansville – Graves had another big game for Butler, scoring 22 points to lead the Bulldogs past in-state foe Evansville 60-47.
Graves was 8-of-15 shooting on the night, including 5-of-10 from three-point range. He was the only player in double figures for Butler.
Jason Holsinger led Evansville with 16 points.
Upcoming games:
Nov. 21 vs. Michigan at Great Alaska Shootout
Nov. 23-24 at Great Alaska Shootout
Cleveland State Vikings (3-2)
Week record: 2-2
Recap
Nov. 13 at George Mason – Against 2006 NCAA Final Four participant George Mason, the Vikings struggled, losing 56-47.
Cedric Jackson scored a collegiate-high 20 points, but the Vikings shot just 28 percent from the field in the second half. In the first half, Cleveland State shot 50 percent to trail just 31-28 at halftime. George Mason shot 26 percent from the field in the second half, but was 14-of-21 from the free-throw line.
Joe Davis also scored in double figures for Cleveland State with 13.
Will Thomas and John Vaughan each scored 18 for George Mason.
Nov. 16 vs. Georgia Southern at Daytona Beach, Fla. – In the Glenn Wilkes Classic, Cleveland State lost a nail-biter 72-70 to Georgia Southern.
Jackson scored a game-high 21 points and had nine assists to lead Cleveland State. J’Nathan Bullock also had a big night for the Vikings, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
After taking a 40-34 halftime lead, the Vikings struggled in the second half for the second game in a row, shooting just 36 percent in the half. Georgia Southern, who was led by Louis Graham’s 18 points off the bench, shot 52.2 percent in the second half.
Nov. 17 vs. Florida State in Daytona Beach, Fla. – Cleveland State won a thriller in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, but not without some controversy.
The Vikings knocked off Florida State of the ACC 69-66 for Cleveland State’s third victory in 11 games against the ACC. Jackson continued a monstrous week, scoring a collegiate-high 27 points for the Vikings, and Bullock added 19.
The game had nine lead changes and 10 ties.
Uche Echefu led FSU with 13 points and 10 rebounds. But the controversy came with less than a second remaining in overtime.
With 0.7 seconds left and after a series of timeouts, FSU inbounded the ball from underneath the Vikings’ basket. After a long inbounds pass, Bullock deflected the ball out of bounds. But the clock failed to start after the touch. After the officials conferred, FSU got the ball out of bounds underneath its own basket with 0.4 seconds remaining.
Isaiah Swann got the ensuing inbounds pass and drilled a three-pointer, but was waved off immediately.
Nov. 18 vs. Florida Atlantic in Daytona Beach, Fla. – Cleveland State got a balanced effort from three players en route to a 76-66 victory in the final round game of the Glenn Wilkes Classic.
Bullock, Davis and Jackson combined to score 60 points for the Vikings. The Vikings, who jumped out to a 39-26 halftime lead, went 2-1 in the tournament.
Bullock led the way with 25 points and eight rebounds. Jackson scored 17 points and had six assists, and Davis scored 18 points. George Tandy scored five points, but grabbed 10 rebounds.
Carlos Monroe led Florida Atlantic with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Upcoming games:
Nov. 24 vs. John Carroll
Detroit Titans (1-1)
Week record: 0-1
Recap
Nov. 14 at Saint Louis – Despite shooting 50 percent from the field in the second half, Detroit lost to Saint Louis 66-58.
Josh Samarco had a game-high 16 points off the bench on 6-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-9 from three-point range. Chris Hayes also added 14 points off the bench, and Jon Goode scored 10 points.
Upcoming games:
Nov. 19 vs. Western Michigan
Nov. 21 vs. Chicago State
Nov. 24 vs. Rochester
Illinois-Chicago Flames (2-2)
Week record: 1-2
Recap
Nov. 13 vs. Illinois-Springfield – Four of five starters scored in double figures for UIC in the Flames’ 81-55 blowout of Illinois-Springfield.
Scott VanderMeer led the way with 19 points, while Jeremy Buttell reached a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for UIC. Josh Mayo scored 13 points and dished out eight assists, and Karl White Jr. scored 14 points and had six assists.
The Flames shot 53 percent from the field in the game, and were 13-of-24 from three-point range.
Nick Livas scored 18 points off the bench to lead UIS.
Nov. 16 vs. Winthrop at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands – In the opening game of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, the Flames lost 72-58 to Winthrop.
Mayo led UIC with 16 points, followed by 14 from VanderMeer and 10 from Karl White Jr. VanderMeer was one rebound short of picking up a double-double.
Taj McCullough scored a game-high 21 points for the Eagles, who beat Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament last season.
Nov. 17 vs. Charlotte at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands – Charlotte hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to hand Illinois-Chicago a 64-63 loss in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
Mayo led the way for the Flames by scoring a game-high 15 points, all in the second half. Spencer Stewart added 10 points. Buttell grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, and VanderMeer had five rebounds and five blocks.
Charlotte got 14 points from Lamont Mack and Leemire Goldwire.
Both teams shot poorly with Charlotte hitting 36 percent of its shots and UIC hitting 39 percent from the field. UIC also shot just 62 percent from the free-throw line.
Upcoming games:
Nov. 19 vs. Wichita State at Paradise Jam
Loyola Ramblers (2-1)
Week record: 1-1
Recap
Nov. 13 at Eastern Illinois – Five players were in double figures for Loyola to give the Ramblers a 72-65 victory over in-state foe Eastern Illinois.
It is the sixth straight road victory for the Ramblers, dating back to last season.
Five players were in double figures in scoring for Loyola, led by a double-double by Andy Polka. Polka scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Tracy Robinson led the Ramblers in scoring with 16 off the bench. J.R. Blount, Leon Young and Ross Forman also were in double digits, scoring 15, 12 and 10, respectively.
Mike Robinson led Eastern Illinois with 13 points.
Nov. 16 vs. Western Michigan – A three-point second half deficit was nearly erased as Loyola lost to Western Michigan 63-61.
The loss for the Ramblers is just the second in the past 17 games against non-conference opponents at the Gentile Center.
The first half featured eight lead changes and four ties.
Blount had a big game for the Ramblers, scoring a game-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Robinson added 11 points as well for Loyola.
Western Michigan, which had three players in double figures, was led by Joe Reitz’s 17 points.
Upcoming games:
Nov. 24 at Purdue
UW-Green Bay Phoenix (2-2)
Week record: 1-2
Recap
Nov. 12 at Ohio State – Mike Schachtner led Green Bay with 17 points in a 91-68 loss to the 2007 NCAA runner-up Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off’s Midwest Regional.
Terry Evans had a big game in rebounding for Green Bay with a game-high 12 to go along with six points.
Ohio State was led by David Lighty’s 21 points, and Jamar Butler had 17 points and 10 assists.
Nov. 13 vs. Delaware State – In the consolation round of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament, the Phoenix cruised to a 70-50 victory.
Schachtner had another big night in the tournament, scoring 18 points. Ryan Tillema scored 14 points off the bench for the Phoenix as well, and the Phoenix shot 57 percent from the field for the game.
Roy Bright led Delaware State with 18 points on 8-of-18 shooting.
Nov. 17 at Massachusetts – Green Bay was unable to come back from a 21-point halftime deficit in a 93-78 loss to Massachusetts.
It was the 24th victory for the Minutemen in the past 28 home games.
Schachtner scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Evans had 16 points, and Rahmon Fletcher added 10 for the Phoenix.
Entering the game averaging 11 turnovers per game as a team, the Phoenix had 22 turnovers on the night.
The Minutemen got big games from Etienne Brower and Gary Forbes as each scored 25 points.
Green Bay was outscored 56-35 in the first half.
Upcoming games:
Nov. 24 vs. North Dakota State
UW-Milwaukee Panthers (2-1)
Week record: 1-1
Recap
Nov. 14 at Ball State – Torre Johnson and Paige Paulsen each scored 19 points to help erase Milwaukee’s 17-point second half deficit to win 81-74 in overtime.
Ricky Franklin, who scored 11 points off the bench for Milwaukee, hit a game-tying three-pointer with 0.7 seconds remaining. Milwaukee outscored Ball State 59-35 in the final 19 minutes of the game.
Johnson also grabbed 13 rebounds for the Panthers, and all 19 of Paulsen’s 19 points came in the second half and overtime.
It is the largest comeback by a UWM team since it rallied from a 21-point deficit in 2001 to beat Virginia Tech in overtime.
Nov. 18 vs. Northern Iowa – Milwaukee could not overcome a 20-point, 10-rebound effort by Jordan Eglseder as Northern Iowa handed the Panthers their first loss of the season 73-66.
Unfortunately, the Panthers wasted a big game by Johnson. He scored 29 points on 12-of-12 shooting, and had nine rebounds and two blocks in 35 minutes. Paulsen scored 11 points for the Panthers, but no other player from UWM scored more than six points.
Milwaukee also struggled from the field, shooting just 35 percent for the game.
Upcoming games:
Nov. 20 vs. South Dakota State
Nov. 24 vs. Drake
Valparaiso Crusaders (2-0)
Week record: 2-0
Recap
Nov. 12 vs. Grace – Four different players scored in double figures for Valparaiso in the Crusaders’ 90-59 victory.
Leading the way was Samual Haanpaa with 15 points. Brandon McPherson, Jarryd Loyd and Bryan Bouchie also scored in double figures with 14, 14 and 11 points, respectively. Shawn Huff also had a solid game with nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists to just one turnover.
Marcus Moore led Grace with 11 points.
Nov. 15 at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne – Valparaiso never trailed, and built a nine-point halftime lead en route to a 74-64 victory over IPFW.
The Crusaders had a balanced attack against the Mastadons with nine of the 10 players who played scored. Jake Diebler and Loyd led the way with 10 points each. The Crusaders also shot 50 percent from the field for the game.
Jakari Johnson led IPFW with a game-high 18 points.
Upcoming games:
Nov. 20 at Vanderbilt
Nov. 23-24 at South Padre Island (Texas) Invitational
Wright State Raiders (0-0)
Week record: 0-0
Has yet to play a game
Upcoming games:
Nov. 19 vs. Coastal Carolina
Youngstown Penguins (2-1)
Week record: 2-1
Recap
Nov. 12 at UCLA – Four players were in double figures for Youngstown State but UCLA, who have been to the past two Final Fours, proved to be too much, beating YSU 83-52.
John Barber led the way for the Penguins with 12 points. Byron Davis added 11 points, and Jack Liles and Vance Cooksey each added 10 points. The Penguins shot just 39 percent from the field, and had 23 turnovers.
Kevin Love led UCLA with 21 points and nine rebounds.
Nov. 13 vs. Weber State – Davis scored a collegiate-high 19 points, including two free-throws with 1.8 seconds remaining to lift Youngstown State past 2007 NCAA tournament participant Weber State 69-66 in the consolation bracket of the CBE Classic.
YSU led by as many as 18 points in the first half in the game, which was played in Los Angeles, and shot 56 percent from the field for the game.
Cooksey had another solid game, scoring 18 points, and Vytas Sulskis scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Weber State, who was the Big Sky Conference representative in the NCAA tournament last season, was led by a double-double by Arturas Valeika with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Nov. 17 vs. Lock Haven – Davis tied a collegiate-high with 19 points and four Youngstown State players in double figures to win big over Lock Haven 95-55 in the Penguins’ home opener.
Dan Boulder had a huge game off the bench for the Penguins, scoring 10 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, including on the offensive glass. Gemayl Johnson added 11 points, and Sulskis scored 10. Cooksey scored just five points, but handed out six assists.
YSU’s defense was strong all game, holding Lock Haven to 31 percent shooting for the game, including 21.2 percent in the first half. On the offensive end, the Penguins shot 52 percent for the game, and outrebounded Lock Haven 62-32.
Billy Arre led Lock Haven with 15 points.
Upcoming games:
Nov. 24 at Notre Dame
