GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Butler's Mike Monserez muscled his way to the hoop against Texas Pan-American yesterday.
They're a different kind of basketball team, the Bulldog players will tell you. Butler uses team effort
to reach Classic semifinals
By Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comThere is no 'I' in Butler, just as there is no 'I' in team.
Junior swingman Mike Monserez will be the first to say he doesn't know what their record is.
"What we want to do is go out and play our game, play the Butler way," said Monserez.
The Butler way is not about winning, although the Bulldogs have done plenty of that lately. Last year's team went 26-6; this year's edition is 9-0 and is one of just 10 undefeated squads remaining in the country.
Last night, the Bulldogs kept their perfect record intact, topping Texas-Pan American 67-48 at the Stan Sheriff Center as the 39th Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic continued opening-round play.
Butler will face Western Kentucky (6-4) in today's 5 p.m. championship bracket semifinal. The Hilltoppers rallied past Chicago State 63-56 in the second game in front of 1,383.
Tonight's 7:30 semifinal pits host Hawaii (5-1) against Tennessee Tech (6-4).
Consolation play opens at 11 this morning with Alcorn State (1-8) taking on Bradley (2-7). Texas-Pan American (4-9) plays Chicago State (2-7) at 1:30 p.m.
Tomorrow's schedule begins at 11 a.m. with the seventh-place game. The event concludes with the championship game at 7:30 p.m.
Butler 68, Texas-Pan American 48: Monserez knows first hand what the "Butler way" is all about. His father, Marty, was senior co-captain of the 1973-74 Bulldogs that finished 14-12.
It was part of the reason the younger Monserez decided to transfer from Notre Dame.
"It's all about doing the right thing, never embarrassing ourselves on or off the court," said Mike Monserez, who finished with 12 points, one of four Bulldogs in double figures. "We strive to be the best we can every single day, collectively, as a group."
The Bulldogs didn't care who their next opponent would be. The first thing on coach Todd Lickliter's postgame agenda was to head outside to smell the sweet night air.
"We have a collective agreement to do the right thing, the right way," said Lickliter. "It's so much easier said than done, to put your teammates first. Five guys on the court, 15 guys on the team, pulling together is stronger than any one player."
Butler's victory was a team effort, led by Darnell Archery's 16 points. The junior guard hit all three of his 3-point attempts in the opening 11 minutes as the Bulldogs took control early at 18-6.
Butler hit its first six 3-pointers, including one each by Brandon Miller and Monserez, for a 26-8 lead with eight minutes to go. The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 170-76 in the first eight minutes of their nine games.
Butler then went cold from the outside, missing their next six treys. The Broncs rallied behind eight points from Kevin Mitchell to close to 37-22 at intermission.
UTPA opened the second half with a 7-0 run, pulling to 37-29, but never got closer. Their comeback attempt was hurt when junior forward Allen Holcomb went out with a sprained right knee after running into the basket stanchion on a block attempt.
Mitchell was the only Bronc in double figures, with 16. Miller and Duane Lightfoot each finished with 12 points for Butler, which ran its streak of regular-season nonconference victories to 25.
The Bulldogs also kept an opponent under 50 points for the sixth time this year. Butler came into the game ranked No. 1 in team defense nationally with a 50.2 ppg average.
"Our defense is simple," said Lickliter. "On each possession, we contend and contest the shot. It's a collective assignment. The way the game is played now, it's almost impossible to guard 1-on-1.
"I'm real proud of my team's effort. We're thankful to be here. Whichever team we see will be a challenge."
Western Kentucky 63, Chicago State 56: Up next for Butler will be the Hilltoppers, who got 24 points from Patrick Sparks, including 11 in the final five minutes, to hand the Cougars their sixth straight road defeat.
Sparks and Mike Wells combined for 21 of Western's 32 first-half points as the Hilltoppers took a 32-25 lead into the locker room. WKU extended its lead to 36-25 in the opening minutes of the second half, but Chicago State refused to fold.
The Cougars used Kelvin Smallwood's four unanswered points to pull within 46-44 with 7:24 left. Some 44 seconds later, Derrick Wimmer's 3-pointer gave Chicago State its first lead since 18-17 midway through the first half at 47-46.
Smallwood extended the Cougars' lead to 49-46. Enter Sparks, who scored six of WKU's points in an 8-0 run to take the lead for good at 54-49.
Chicago State could get no closer than two the rest of the way as the Toppers hit their last six free throws.
Wells finished with 12 points. Craig Franklin led Chicago State with 16 and Smallwood added 15.
