Butler 75, BYU 70
For BYU, the past few days in the Bahamas have been anything but paradise.
For the second night in a row, the Cougars lost a game at Battle 4 Atlantis on Paradise Island.
This time, BYU lost 75-70 to Butler in the comfort round at Imperial Arena on Thanksgiving night.
“We’re learning a lot about ourselves. We learned a lot about ourselves last night,” said coach Mark Pope. “I think the players have improved a lot from yesterday in some ways in their approach to the game. games give us the opportunity to do just that.”
Cougar sophomore Fousseyni Traore scored a game-high season-high 21 points with 21 points on 8 of 12 shots from the field. He was also 5/6 from the free throw line.
“You have to keep believing in yourself and keep working,” Traoré said of his performance.
But reminiscent of BYU retreat wednesday Butler Jaden Taylor and Eric Hunter Jr. were unstoppable at USC as Trojan guard Boogie Ellis scored a career-high 27 points. Taylor and Hunter scored 20 and 19 points respectively and knocked down three of his 3-pointers respectively.
Butler (4-2) trailed BYU by 53% to 42%. The Cougars made only 3 of their 20 3-pointers.
BYU (3-3) outscored the Bulldogs 39-27 in rebounding and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. The Cougars outscored Butler in the paint 46-34.
Turnovers have been a definite weakness for BYU this season. The Cougars only committed 13 against Butler while forcing the Bulldogs to 16. BYU scored 21 points from the Bulldog turnovers.
Guard Rudy Williams, who scored 12 points, said: “Throughout this series of games, the coaches have emphasized how important it is to handle the ball. “Thirteen is probably more than we would have liked. It feels like a lot, but it’s on the decline, and we’re going to keep working on it and keep that number to a minimum.”
The Cougars couldn’t overcome a night of poor shooting from three-point territory.
Still, BYU had plenty of chances to score a win.
A Traoré jumper with 3:11 remaining cut the BYU deficit to 66-63, and a Gideon George steal and Williams layup made it 66-65.
But every time the cougar approached, the bulldog reacted. Hunter filled in a 3-pointer with 2:08 remaining. With George’s and-one he cut the deficit to 69-68. BYU couldn’t take the lead until the end.
George, who finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds, missed 3 with 18 seconds remaining, and Butler hit four clutch free throws in the final 12 seconds to seal the win.
“They played really big in the closing stages,” Pope said. “It was a great win for them.”
The Cougars trailed 37-30 at halftime and started the second half with a 12-0 run that included 3-pointers by Williams and Jackson Robinson.
However, BYU was unable to make another 3-pointer for the rest of the game.
Overall, Butler had four players score in double figures. Manny Bates and Simas Lucosius each scored his 14 points for the Bulldogs.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, guard Spencer Johnson absorbed a blow late in the game and was unable to take the floor in the crucial final minute.
“Spencer had a little health problem,” Pope said. “Let’s see how it goes.”
BYU will look to regain victory in their Battle 4 Atlantis appearance on Friday (1:30 PM, MST, ESPNU) against Dayton (3-3).
The Flyers lost 76-64 to North Carolina State on Thursday.
