Sophomore Boden Kapke had 12 points in the loss against St. John’s. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics.
CALEB DENORME | MANAGING EDITOR | cdenorme@butler.edu
The men’s basketball team fought valiantly but eventually fell to No. 7 St. John’s 76-70. After spending most of the first half down by single digits, the Bulldogs rallied to take the lead with seven and a half minutes remaining. Unfortunately for the Hinkle faithful, that lead would not last. The Red Storm went on to regain the advantage and never look back, giving the Dawgs their 15th loss of the season.
In a heartbreaking loss to St. John’s, let’s go beyond the box score.
Standing tall in a physical battle
Despite the final score, Butler took the Red Storm to the wire. The Bulldogs had several chances to tie or take the lead in the final minutes of the game, but could not capitalize.
The inability to close out games is the story of the Dawgs’ season. Time and time again Butler proved that it can hang around with some of the toughest teams in college basketball, but it just cannot find the finishing touches to secure the victory.
Bulldogs head coach Thad Matta knew his team put up a good fight, but gave credit to the Red Storm for taking their chances.
“We fought,” Matta said. “Give [St. John’s] credit. They started the game on fire. We had to adjust defensively because they were making shots.”
St. John’s had a blistering first half, shooting 53.1% from the field. The Red Storm were able to keep Butler at arms length for a majority of the half, but the Dawgs went into halftime only down by six. Down by single digits at halftime to a top-ten team in the country is nothing to be ashamed of.
This loss – which will sting – showed what Butler could be. The Bulldogs did not have their best game, but they still went down to the buzzer with one of the best teams in college basketball. This team has come a long way since those embarrassing losses to Austin Peay and North Dakota State, but the Dawgs came up just short in the end yet again.
A total team effort in a losing battle
One of the bright spots tonight was how Butler played collectively as a team. Every Bulldog who played got on the scoresheet, with four of them ending up in double-digits.
Fifth-year forward Jahmyl Telfort led the scoring charge with 13 points, followed closely by senior forward Pierre Brooks and sophomore center Boden Kapke with 12 points each. Junior guard Kolby King poured 11 points off the bench as well.
The Dawgs survived much of this season riding the hot hands of Telfort and Brooks, so it is rare to see such a comprehensive performance from Butler. Sharing the scoring burden made it hard for St. John’s to key in on one or two players to “shut down”, which ultimately allowed the Bulldogs to stay in the game.
Although the scoring output was evenly distributed, Butler remained a few baskets away from capturing victory.
“We put ourselves in a position to win [with] a couple crazy plays down the end,” Matta said. “[St. John’s] kept coming at us. We needed to make a couple [more] plays and we didn’t get it done.”
The Bulldogs will have a chance to avenge this loss on Saturday in Pennsylvania against Villanova, before returning home for a rivalry matchup with Xavier.
