UW Trounces Norfolk State, 80-51, to Start Season
November 18, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Sophomore Brian Butch scored a career-high 23 points to lead the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team to a season-opening 80-51 rout of Norfolk State in the first round of the Paradise Jam tournament Friday night at the Sports and Fitness Center.
The Badgers (1-0) fell behind 7-2 early in the game but used hot shooting (31-of-63 for 49.2 percent) and strong rebounding (43-26 advantage) to storm back and improve to 4-1 in season openers under head coach Bo Ryan.
Butch, who was 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, finished with seven rebounds and four assists. Kammron Taylor added 12 points while Jason Chappell tallied nine points, four assists and two steals.
'(Butch's) teammates found him tonight, and with good ball movement, a lot of times he was wide open,' Ryan said. 'Brian was able to score inside and outside.'
Tony Murphy and Calvin Brown had 14 points apiece to pace the Spartans (0-1), who mounted several small runs in the second half but never posed a real threat.
After trailing in the first few minutes of the contest, Wisconsin used an 11-4 run to jump ahead 13-11 for its first lead with 12:49 on the clock. Butch put up 10 points as UW went into halftime up 40-25.
That 15-point lead gradually increased over the next frame, and with the game in hand, the Badgers were able to use their bench players; freshmen Marcus Landry and DeAaron Williams combined for 16 points in their reserve roles.
The Badgers return to action at 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday in second-round action vs. Eastern Kentucky.
