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Final Score: Butler 74 - Valparaiso 69

Valparaiso, IN (Sports Network) - Willie Veasley returned from an ankle injury to score 20 points and grab six rebounds, and 15th-ranked Butler ran the table in the Horizon League for the first time in school history with a 74-69 win over Valparaiso.

Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack added 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Bulldogs (26-4, 18-0 Horizon), who became the first team in conference history to go undefeated since the league went to an 18-game schedule. Butler also extended the nation's longest win streak to 18, which is also a school record.

In addition, the Bulldogs improved their impressive road record to 12-1 this season despite missing top scorer Gordon Hayward, who sat out the game with an injury.

Cory Johnson scored 28 points to lead the Crusaders (15-16, 10-8), who had a three-game home win streak snapped. Brandon McPherson added 14 points, as Valparaiso went a miserable 4-of-25 from three-point range in defeat.

Butler trailed by three with just under 11 minutes to play, but Veasley keyed a game-changing 19-3 burst with a trio of threes. His first make from beyond the arc put the Bulldogs ahead for good, 50-49, and he added two on back-to- back possessions for a 63-52 lead with 5 1/2 minutes left.

Howard capped the run with a pair of free throws for a 13-point lead with 4:50 remaining.

Valpo made a late run and got to within five on a Matt Kenney three with 1:24 left, but Mack responded with a layup, and Butler held on the rest of the way.

The Crusaders scored the first six points of the game and grabbed a 20-12 lead on a McPherson jumper midway through the opening half.

Butler remained close and went in front when Mack made a layup with 18 seconds on the clock put the Bulldogs ahead, 30-29. The lead was short-lived, however, as McPherson's pair of free throws in the final seconds gave Valpo a 31-30 halftime lead.

A pair of Mack threes sandwiched around a Howard dunk helped Butler surge to a 40-33 advantage early in the second half, but the Bulldogs recorded only one field goal in the next seven-plus minutes.

Valparaiso took advantage and managed to grab a 47-46 advantage on a Johnson three with just under 13 minutes to play.