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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHICAGO (AP) -- First, Butler ganged up on league MVP Rashad
Phillips. Then after routing Detroit and earning a trip to the NCAA
Tournament, the Bulldogs celebrated in their own unique way.
|  | | Butler's Scott Robisch, left, blocks a shot by Daniel Whye. |
They went on the floor, sang the school fight song and did cartwheels.
"It's just a little celebration we do after each victory,"
Butler forward Mike Marshall said after the Bulldogs routed Detroit
62-43 Tuesday night to win the Midwestern Collegiate Conference
tournament title.
"We all sing the fight song and then the top performers for
that game, as a group, do cartwheels. This was pretty much a team
effort, so we all did cartwheels. We even talked coach into doing
one."
And why not? Coach Barry Collier was more than happy to oblige
after declaring Tuesday night's win "the best game we played all
year."
The Bulldogs have been doing a lot of singing and turning on
their hands lately. They've won a school-record 15 straight, but
none sweeter than Tuesday night.
LaVall Jordan scored 19 points and Thomas Jackson had 15
assists, but it was the defense on Phillips that produced the
victory and Butler's third trip to the NCAA Tournament in four
years.
Phillips, averaging 23.4 points, was dogged all over the floor
by a host of defenders, most notably Jackson and Jordan, and
finished with just 11 points on 4-of-19 shooting.
"Rashad is the big focus. We did a good job on him and we
contained the other guys," Jordan said.
"We had this game plan that when he gave it up, we wanted to
try to not let him get it back. That was my job, along with Thomas
and Andrew (Graves)."
The 5-foot-10 Phillips got little or no help from his teammates
in Detroit's lowest scoring game of the season as the Titans shot
just 26 percent (16-of-61).
Detroit (20-12) didn't make a field goal in the final 3:28 of
the first half and then went 0-for-11 from the field in the first
8:07 of the second, getting just one free throw during the
frustrating stretch of more than 11 minutes.
"It was difficult. One thing about Butler, they really carry
out their assignments well," Phillips said. "That's what they did
-- they carried out their game plan. They all did a number on me."
Butler's 16-1 run during the Detroit scoring drought opened a
40-22 lead before Phillips finally hit a layup with 11:43 to go.
But that time it was too late for the Titans, who had been in
the NCAA Tournament the past two years and won a first-round game
each time. They had also beaten Butler in last year's MCC title
game, knocking the Bulldogs into the NIT.
"We played about as bad as we played all year," Detroit coach
Perry Watson said. "We talked about not turning the ball over. Our
decision making was really bad and our shooting was really bad.
Butler got great shots and that was it in a nutshell."
The flashy Phillips, decked out in black and blue shoes, showed
startling quickness. But his shot was off.
His only first-half basket came with 5:34 left on a driving
layup that he converted into a three-point play. He then fed Willie
Green for a 3-pointer and made a gorgeous no-look pass to Terrell
Riggs as the Titans turned up the tempo and closed within 24-20
with 3:28 left.
But tournament MVP Marshall muscled in a follow and Jordan hit a
smooth jumper from the left of the lane as Butler went back up
28-20 at the half. Phillips had a clearout to end the half, but his
3-pointer was way off.
Butler's defense in the opening minutes was tight and the
Bulldogs rode it to an early 18-8 lead as Scott Robisch, who
finished with 15 points, hit three jumpers and Jordan a pair of
3-pointers, one a bank shot.
The Titans missed 21 of 29 first-half field-goal attempts
against the best defensive team in the MCC this season. In the
second half, they were just 8-of-32.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Butler Clubhouse
Championship Week
NCAA Tournament automatic bids
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mike Marshall fights for the rebound and gets the hoop and the foul.
avi: 429 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
LaVall Jordan sinks the pull-up jumper in the lane.
avi: 570 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Rashad Phillips dishes to Terrell Riggs for the dunk.
avi: 640 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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