Cincinnati ? Two college students who claimed they were trying to raise tuition money through armed robberies got a tough lesson in court Thursday.

A Hamilton County common pleas judge sentenced Andrew Butler and Christopher Avery to 20-year prison terms and told them dire financial straits don’t justify breaking the law.

“If you get to that point, robbing people isn’t the answer. It never has been and it never will be,” Judge Steven Martin said.

Butler, 20, and Avery, 22, apologized to their families and their victims before Martin imposed the sentence.

The men pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated robbery and six charges of kidnapping.

Butler, who attended the University of Toledo, told Martin in an earlier hearing that tuition increases outpaced his scholarships and financial aid. Avery, a student at the University of Cincinnati, said he couldn’t pay for summer classes after an internship fell through.

Prosecutors said the two had guns and were wearing masks when they made off with $130,000 from a crowded bank in suburban Reading on July 17. A day earlier, they unsuccessfully tried to rob a check-cashing business, prosecutors said.