Butler used a strong second half to pull away from visiting Troy on Saturday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse to earn their 3rd win of the season 70-59 to improve their record to 3-0 on the young season.
The hometown Bulldogs started out in a funk in the first half. Early on, Butler had more turnovers than points. The Bulldogs had 12 turnovers and only seven points at the ten minute mark of the first half and found themselves down 17-7 to the visitors from Troy, Alabama. Near the end of the first half, Butler's shooting percentage was an abysmal 30 percent. Butler fought their way back to close the half within three points at 20-23. Then the heave happened.
Bryce Nze took a missed three pointer by Troy's Christyon Eugene and heaved the ball 80 feet down the other end as the clock expired. The ball banked off the backboard and went in. The 7,227 fans inside Hinkle were sent into a frenzy. After a long discussion at the scorers table, the refs counted the basket. Game tied at 23 going into halftime. Crazy things always seem to happen at Hinkle Fieldhouse don't they? Another magic moment to add to the list in the 93 year history of Indiana's basketball cathedral.
Butler began to pull away in the 2nd half with an 9-0 run to stretch the lead to 55-44 with 6 minutes to go. Troy never got any closer. Butler ended the game shooting 69 percent in the second half, a much needed improvement after a sloppy shooting performance in the first half.
The Bulldogs were led in scoring by sophomore Chuck Harris who had 23 points and four rebounds. Also scoring in double figures for the Bulldogs were senior Jair Bolden who had 21 points and freshman Jayden Taylor who had 10 points. Of the Bulldogs 12 three pointers on the night, 8 of them came from Harris and Bolden who each hit 4 from beyond the arc. Taylor had his third straight double digit game to start his Butler career. That is significant due to the fact that no other Butler freshman in the last 30 years has accomplished that feat.
Troy was led in scoring by Efe Odigie who has 13 points and also scoring in double figures for the Trojans was Duke Deen who also led them in rebounds with 6 on the night. Troy shot 42 percent for the game but struggled from beyond the three point line, only making 4 out of 19 attempts.
Through the first three games of the season, Butler has done well defensively to keep their opponents at bay by half despite struggling offensively themselves. Butler hasn't allowed more than 30 points in a half so far in this early season. They also have done well to keep their three opponents under 60 points for the game. Pretty good accomplishment despite missing their best defensive player in Aaron Thompson. Thompson will return to the Bulldog lineup on Wednesday evening.
Butler is now 62-1 in their last 63 non conference home games. The Bulldogs will face a big challenge on Wednesday night when Michigan State arrives at Hinkle Fieldhouse for the annual Gavitt Games Tipoff.
i wonder who that one non conference home loss was to. It will be two after Wednesday nite.
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