INDIANAPOLIS - Southwest Missouri State Coach Steve Alford made a rule for his basketball team Saturday that they weren't supposed to see their parents, friends or girlfriends before the game.

That rule may have been the key to SMS's 72-57 victory over Butler University.

Alford said that being back in Indiana was a concern for the Bears because of all the distractions. He said that his team would be in the state three times this year and while the hometown support was nice, there were games to play.

"We knew this was a big game (against Butler) for us. We knew we had to start off well," Alford said.

"We didn't want to get off on the start we did last year."

A big part of of the hometown crowd at the game Saturday was from Warsaw. Warsaw Community High School Athletic Director Dave Fulkerson said probably 300 to 400 people from Warsaw were on hand to watch SMS No. 24, Kevin Ault, play and perhaps Butler No. 10, walk-on Luke Reed. Fulkerson said the WCHS athletic office sold 200 tickets but had people continue to call after all the tickets were sold. The attendance at the game was 8,002 according to official Butler statistics.

"It's great for Kevin to have all the support here," Fulkerson said.

Ault acknowledged the support too.

"It felt good to come back to Indiana and see a lot of family and friends here," Ault said.

Ault was held to only four points during the game, though , as Butler put the pressure on him, knowing what he was capable of doing to them.

In last year's game televised on ESPN, Ault scored 23 of SMS's 63 points. It wasn't enough, though, as Butler scored 66 points for the victory.

Ault played 29 minutes in the game Saturday.

The other former Warsaw player, Reed, did not see any playing time, but there was a level of support for him, too, from the Warsaw crowd.

"I was surprised that he was on the team. I was looking through the media guide and I saw him in there. It was nice to see another Warsaw player continue on to the college level," Ault said.

During the game, Ault's homecoming was almost not a happy one.

The Bears began their first- half take-off at 9:38 into the game at a score of 15 to Butler's 13. By the end of the first half, SMS was up 33 to 24. But, at the beginning of the second half, Butler tried to get over the hump.

Butler tied the game at 40 with a three-point shot by Butler's Andrew Graves at the 13:36 mark. The battle waged on until SMS got the score to their advantage at 55 to 45.

Butler didn't give up. The Bulldogs kept the Bears at 55 as they climbed up to 53. The Bears, with their tough defense and quick offense, soared on from there with a jumper and a free-throw from Danny Moore.

Butler Head Coach Barry Collier said, "I thought that Southwest Missouri played well tonight. They were tough minded.

"I was proud of my team, the way they kept on them and fighting."

Leading scorers for Butler were Mike Marshall and LaVall Jordan with 15 points each. Andy Hirschy made it into double digits with 11 points.

Danny Moore led the SMS Bears with 18 points and William Fontleroy had 17.

Collier said, "Fontleroy had a great game for Southwest Missouri when we were putting a lot of attention on Ault.

"We're a young team. We're going to keep touching the stove, but we'll keep at it until we realize it's hot."

Alford said, "This is a very good win for us. Coach Collier does an outstanding job with his team.

"Our defense was pretty sound. We had a few letdowns bout our offense was in a hurry."

"Ault has been sick, but that's no excuse. He needs to work harder on getting through that."

The Bears defense kept Butler at a total field goal percentage of 40 percent and Butler had about 23 turnovers.

Both teams will get very little rest before their next games. SMS plays Missouri Nov. 18 in the Chase preseason NIT first round at 7 p.m. Butler takes on 17th-ranked Xavier at home Tuesday at 7 p.m. [[In-content Ad]]