Box Score

Butler dropped its first contest of the season Wednesday night as host Indiana State pulled out a 72-71 win at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 15 and No. 16 in this week's national polls, now stand at 8-1 on the season. The Sycamores improve to 5-4.

After senior Tyler Lewis tied the game with two free throws with 11.5 seconds remaining, Indiana State's Brenton Scott took the ball the length of the court and was fouled in the lane. He made the first of two charity tosses with only 1.5 seconds remaining. His second free throw was missed and Butler's heave at the final buzzer was unsuccessful.

After Indiana State took its largest lead of the game at 40-32 with 17:02 to play, the Bulldogs unleashed a 16-2 run to take a 48-42 advantage with 12:54 remaining. The momentum would not continue as Indiana State fought back to tie the game at 55. They Sycamores' lead would grow to 68-62 after Matt Van Scyoc hit his fifth three-pointer with 2:13 remaining.

The Bulldogs used back-to-back baskets by Andrew Chrabascz to pull within two before Van Scyoc got open again for another three-pointer. A Kelan Martin three-pointer and the two Lewis free throws following an Indiana State miss set up the final possession.

"I have to give Indiana State a lot of credit for what they did tonight," said Butler coach Chris Holtmann. "I've said we have a long way to go, and we need to play better and coach better. We got beat tonight on the defensive end, but we didn't have a good start or a physical start. We had lapses defensively, but it started with a lack of physicality. We expected this to be a dogfight tonight and it was."

Scott led Indiana State with 25 points, while Van Scyoc added a career-high 23. The Sycamores out-rebounded Butler, 37-29.

Indiana State had a 32-28 lead at halftime as the Bulldogs uncharacteristically had nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes. It was only the second time this season that Butler trailed at the break.

The Bulldogs shot 54 percent in the second half, featuring 15 of Chrabascz's 18 points. Lewis had 15 points and seven assists for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday, hosting Cincinnati at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The match-up of Top 25 programs tips at 4:30 p.m. The game will air nationally on FS1.