Mack carries Butler past UTEP

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shelvin Mack made seven three-pointers and finished with 25 points, as fifth-seeded Butler pulled away in the second half to take a 77-59 win over UTEP in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Gordon Hayward sank 9-of-11 free throws on his way to 13 points, and Matt Howard added 11 points for the Horizon League-champion Bulldogs (29-4), who won their 21st consecutive game to extend the nation's longest winning streak.

They are in the tourney for the fourth consecutive year. Butler lost to LSU in the first round last year, but dominated the second half Thursday to take the victory and move into the second round in the West Region.

The Bulldogs will next face 13th-seeded Murray State, which upset Vanderbilt on a buzzer-beater earlier Thursday.

Derrick Caracter had 20 points and nine rebounds to pace UTEP (26-7), the regular season champion of Conference-USA, which was making its first tourney appearance since 2005.

Randy Culpepper added 16 points for the Miners, who held a 33-27 lead at halftime.

But Butler opened the second half with consecutive threes from Mack to pull even, and the game stayed close for the next several minutes until the Bulldogs gained some distance with a 13-0 run.

UTEP went scoreless for about six minutes as Butler made its run, which Willie Veasley ended with a layup for a 49-37 lead with under 12 minutes left. Caracter countered with a bucket, but Shawn Vanzant and Mack answered with back-to-back threes, making it a 55-39 contest with nine minutes to go.

The Miners never recovered as Butler cruised to the win.

UTEP played in front for much of the first half, and used a seven-point run to take a 17-10 advantage with a little over nine minutes left. Butler scored the next nine, but the Miners edged back in front later in the period.

A three-point play from Jeremy Williams put UTEP ahead 29-24 with two minutes to go, and Caracter's layup at the buzzer sent the Miners into the break with a six-point edge.

Game Notes

UTEP has lost in the first round in its last three trips to the NCAA Tournament (2004, '05)...Butler finished 13-of-31 from beyond the arc overall...UTEP was 4-of-18 from three-point range...Julyan Stone had eight points, seven assists and five boards for UTEP...Veasley ended with eight points and nine rebounds...Butler improved to 9-9 all-time in the tourney, while UTEP fell to 14-16.

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