YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio » Gordon Hayward and the No. 18 Butler Bulldogs trusted their game plan, and it got them their 14th win in a row.

Hayward scored 22 points and had a career-high 17 rebounds to help Butler overcome an early eight-point deficit and defeat Youngstown State 68-57 last night. The Bulldogs (22-4, 15-0) clinched their fourth straight Horizon League title as Hayward collected his eighth double-double of the season.

“;Winning the league is something to be proud of,”; Hayward said, “;but now we want to win the league tournament and keep going.

“;We really weren't worried at halftime because we knew we were well prepared. Youngstown State played very well in the first half, but we had a good game plan and didn't follow it as well as we should have at the start.”;

Butler coach Brad Stevens said closing the first half on an 11-2 run to lead at the break 31-30 was important.

“;That was huge,”; said Stevens, now 78-14 including 46-5 in league play in three seasons at the school.

“;We would have liked to start off better, actually we didn't start that badly, but Youngstown State really played well. They are hard to guard and did a good job on defense against us.”;

DeAndre Mays' 18 points led Youngstown State (8-16, 2-12), which has lost four in a row and eight of nine. Vytas Sulskis added 14 points for the Penguins. Matt Howard had 11 points and Willie Veasley 10 for the Bulldogs.

Youngstown State made four consecutive 3-pointers during a 23-4 run midway through the first half to lead 28-20. Hayward's driving layup and free throw 4 seconds before halftime put the Bulldogs back in front by one point.

“;Then we handled play down low better in the second half,”; Hayward said. “;That helped turn it around.”;

Butler shot 62 percent from the field in the second half and earned its seventh straight road win. Hayward finished 6-for-10 from the field and made eight of nine free throws.

The Bulldogs' winning streak is one behind Siena for the longest in the nation. The teams will meet Feb. 20.

“;We haven't even mentioned Siena,”; Hayward said. “;Our focus is on our next game, Cleveland State. They knocked us out of the league tournament a year ago.”;

The Bulldogs' start in conference play is the best by any Horizon team since Wisconsin-Green Bay began 16-0 in 1995-96. They can match that with a win tomorrow at second-place Cleveland State (13-12, 9-4).

No. 16 Gonzaga 80, Saint Mary's, Calif. 61

Elias Harris scored 19 points as the host Bulldogs beat the Gaels to climb into first place in the West Coast Conference and reach 20 wins for the 13th consecutive season.

Matt Bouldin added 18 points as Gonzaga (20-4, 8-1 WCC), which swept the series with Saint Mary's (21-4, 8-2), took a big step toward a 10th consecutive WCC regular-season title.

WAC

Utah State 72, Boise State 67

Jared Quayle scored 14 points and Tai Wesley added 13 to lead the visiting Aggies to a victory over the Broncos.

The win was the ninth in a row for Utah State (19-6, 9-2).

Boise State (11-13, 2-9) dropped into last place in the nine-team conference, a half-game behind idle Hawaii.

Fresno State 83, New Mexico State 64

Paul George scored a career-high 30 points in his return to the Bulldogs' lineup, and Fresno State defeated the visiting Aggies.

Greg Smith added 16 points and eight rebounds for Fresno State (13-12, 6-5) before leaving with an apparent shoulder injury.

Jahmar Young and Jonathan Gibson had 14 points each for NMSU (15-9, 8-3), which fell out of a first-place tie with Utah State.