Senior forward Jahmyl Telfort scored 26 points against Texas Tech on Nov. 30. Photo by Claire Runkel.
SARAH HOHMAN | SPORTS EDITOR | shohman@butler.edu
The Dawgs took a huge 103-95 overtime win over Texas Tech on Nov. 30 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Four starters for Butler were in double digit points. Senior forward Jahmyl Telfort put up 26 points, five rebounds and seven assists. The forward hit a clutch three pointer to give the Dawgs the lead in overtime. Joining Telfort, senior guard DJ Davis scored 25 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists.
The game began with a relatively dominant first half for Butler, but a sloppy second half for the Bulldog defense and exceptional three point shooting for Texas Tech allowed them to crawl back and force overtime.
Let’s go beyond the box score in Butler’s win against the Red Raiders.
Everyone contributing
Butler is really starting to show the chemistry that they worked on all offseason. The offense is spreading the ball around, allowing everyone to get touches and to create open space. Senior guard Posh Alexander is at the forefront of this. Alexander completed a triple-double on the night with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
“[I’m] trying to keep everyone happy,” Alexander said. “Getting them the ball in the right spot … everyone wants to see the ball go in the hoop … I just really want to see my guys happy. I would give up a shot for me just to give it to my teammate, just to see him happy, just to see him get going. That’s just who I am.”
Although junior guard Pierre Brooks was not the leading scorer in this game, he still contributed 18 points for this offense and hit a three late to start sealing the game up.
The rotation of bigs has been something to watch. Senior Jalen Thomas got in foul trouble late in the game. This allowed junior Andre Screen to come in and provide a spark on both sides of the ball. Screen had 14 points and six rebounds.
Improvement on rebounding, but what happened with the threes?
Coming into this game, Texas Tech was ranked 318th in the nation in three point shooting. In this game, something changed.
Chance McMillan scored 24 points on eight threes off the bench for the Red Raiders. As a team, Texas Tech shot 50% from behind the arc.
Rebounding has been an issue for Butler’s defense this season. Against Texas Tech, the Dawgs came out on top in the rebounding battle. The Bulldogs grabbed 40 rebounds, while the Red Raiders only had 24. They allowed the Red Raiders to score only nine second chance points — their second lowest this season.
“To be honest with you, I was [just] looking at the [Texas Tech] rebounds and thought I had the halftime statsheet,” Matta said. “I told the guys, ‘If you outrebound, we win the game.’”
The Dawgs look to continue making progress when they face off against Buffalo on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at Hinkle.
