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Butler tops WSU for Hawaii title

| December 26, 2010 8:00 PM

HONOLULU (AP) - Shelvin Mack scored 20 points to pace Butler to an 84-68 victory over Washington State in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic on Saturday night.

A 15-0 second-half run fueled the Bulldogs (9-4) to their fifth straight win.

Klay Thompson scored a game-high 31 points to lead the Cougars (10-2), whose five-game winning streak ended.

Butler, which made a magical run in last season's NCAA tournament before losing to Duke in the national title game, shot 50 percent (28 of 56), including 11 of 27 on 3-pointers.

The Bulldogs scored on their first six possessions of the second half, including three straight 3-pointers. Two came from Zach Hahn, who finished with 14 points and four assists.

Andrew Smith and tournament MVP Matt

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Howard also had 14 points each. Howard notched a double-double with 11 rebounds, including nine on the defensive side.

Mack, a junior guard, scored 15 in the first half. He finished 8 of 13 shooting in 33 minutes.

He, Howard and Thompson made the all-tournament team, along with Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn and Florida State's Chris Singleton.

Thompson, son of former No. 1 overall NBA draft choice Mychal Thompson, was 10 of 18 from the field and made all seven free throw attempts. He made four of his 10 3-point tries and grabbed five rebounds.

Washington State shot just 33.3 percent in the second half and 40.7 percent for the game. There were eight ties and 18 lead changes in the game.

Butler defeated Utah in a quarterfinal game Wednesday and beat Florida State in the semifinals Thursday. Washington State's road to the title game included a quarterfinal win over Mississippi State and a semifinal victory over Baylor.