Men's Basketball Falls To No. 23 Butler, 45-37 :: Corey Green scores 11 points and Phillip Ramelli adds 10 for the Bulldogs.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Rylan Hanje scored 20 points to lead all scorers as No. 23 Butler defeated Samford 45-37 in game two of the Hoosier Classic at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Samford (7-4) shot 40.5 percent from the field and held Butler (12-0) to 34.9 and SU outrebounded Butler 34-21. Samford's downfall came in turnovers, committing 19 to 11 assists while Butler only turned the ball over seven times. A questionable goaltending that was not called drew a technical foul on the Samford bench at the 12:00 minute mark of the second half. What resulted was a seven-point swing as Samford did not cut the Butler lead to three, and Butler scoredfour consecutive points and increased its lead to nine. Samford cut the Butler lead to six, 43-37, with a minute and a half remaining in the game, but could get no closer.

Samford's offense struggled in the latter part of the game, as the Bulldogs scored only seven points in the final eight and a half minutes. Hanje finished the game 6-of-12 from the field for Butler, while Corey Green scored 11 points and Phillip Ramelli added 10 for Samford. Ramelli also added a game-high eight rebounds.

Hanje led Butler in the first half, scoring 12 points as his team led by as many as 10. His basket at the 10:05 mark gave Butler a 20-10 lead, but Samford battled back to cut the lead to 25-19 on a pair of Cornell Felton free throws. Samford battled the turnover bug in the first half, tossing 10 away to five assists while Butler committed only two and dished out six assists. Butler led 26-19 at the half.

Felton led Samford with six points in the first half and Ramelli contributed five.

Samford faces Eastern Washington in the consolation game of the Hoosier Classic at 5 p.m. (CST) on Saturday.