Butler began it's conference slate of the 2023-24 season with a 74-64 win over Georgetown on Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in the Big East opener for both teams.
Four Bulldogs scored in double figures led by 13 points each from Pierre Brooks and Posh Alexander. D.J. Davis and Jahmyl Telfort each added 12 points a piece. Alexander was the best player on the floor for the Bulldogs on Tuesday night, adding seven assists and then on the defensive end racking up five steals.
The Hoyas were led in scoring by Dontrez Styles who had a game high of 19 points and six rebounds. Also scoring in double figures for the Hoyas were Jayden Epps with 12 points and Supreme Cook who had 10 points and led the Hoyas in rebounds with seven for the game.
Butler and Georgetown didn't exactly have the prettiest showing of basketball in the first half. Both teams struggled from the floor early on with both sides going through multiple scoring droughts. Butler looked hesitant to shoot for awhile it seemed. It remained a close game until about three minutes to go in the first half. Butler would then go on their run.
The Bulldogs for the final three minutes of the first half would go on a scoring and defensive barrage that would extend their lead to 13 points by the time the halftime buzzer sounded with Butler ahead 40-27. Butler would end the half on a 13-2 run that would give them the lead that they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the ballgame. Butler turned seven first half turnovers into seven points. The first half run to end the half was the key part in the Bulldogs win.
Butler went on a scoring run in the second half with six straight points as they pushed to their largest lead of the game at 54-38 with 11 minutes to go. Georgetown would trim the lead to 60-52 but that was the closest the Hoyas would get as another Bulldog scoring run of seven straight points would push the lead back to 15 points at 67-52 with six minutes left.
Georgetown did have an edge in the rebounding category early on in the game. The Hoyas generated 12 second chance points from their offensive rebounding led by Supreme Cook who had five rebounds in the first half alone, four of which were on the offensive side. Butler has been notorious the last couple of seasons for being a poor defensive rebounding team. Butler then regrouped towards the end of the half and outrebounded the Hoyas 19-16. After halftime, the Bulldogs would limit Georgetown to only five second chance points. Butler finished the game with a 37-29 edge on the boards. Butler was led in rebounding by Jalen Thomas who finished with eight.
Butler unfortunately suffered a key injury on Tuesday night of note. Starting shooting guard D.J. Davis left early in the second half with an ankle injury and did not return to the game. Davis was the leading scorer in the first half with 12 points. Butler can't afford to miss their sharpshooting guard for much time especially with the gauntlet of the Big East season officially underway. If Davis is unable to play then expect freshman Finley Bizjack or sophomore Landon Moore to fill the shooting guard spot for the Bulldogs in his absence.
Butler has won seven in a row and currently has a record of 10-2. It is the Bulldogs best 12 game start to the season since 2019-20. The Bulldogs are undefeated so far at Hinkle Fieldhouse with an 8-0 record. The Hoyas fall to 7-5 on the season. Butler's next game is Saturday afternoon at Providence while Georgetown travels to Marquette on Friday night.
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