Butler drops to 10-4 this season with the loss to Creighton. Photo by Drew Kosmak.
SAWYER GOLDWEIN | MANAGING EDITOR | sgoldwein@butler.edu
After healing up over the holiday break, the men’s basketball team hit the road to take on Creighton. Despite the extended time off, the Dawgs looked unprepared early on and fell 89-85
Creighton came out swinging, taking a 12-2 lead and forcing an early timeout by head coach Thad Matta. Butler shaved the lead down as low as one point behind strong minutes from redshirt sophomore forward Jamie Kaiser Jr and senior center Yohan Traore, but the Bluejays answered back to go into halftime with a nine-point lead.
The second half was tightly contested, and on multiple occasions the Dawgs scratched and clawed to get within striking distance before having their hopes quashed by a Bluejay response.
The pivotal moment came just after the under-12 media timeout, when graduate forward Michael Ajayi committed back-to-back fouls, his third and fourth of the game. The infractions forced him to take a seat, putting a stop to another opportunity for Butler to close the gap, and leaving the Bulldogs without their most trusted two-way player for an extended stretch.
Butler fought valiantly without Ajayi, led by Traore, who finished with season-highs of 20 points and seven rebounds. The SMU transfer was crucial for the Bulldogs, as his fellow big-man, junior Drayton Jones, struggled mightily to defend the perimeter against Creighton’s small-ball lineups.
Ajayi fouled out with less than five minutes to go, and the Dawgs appeared to be down and out.
They had one last push in them, facing a seven-point deficit with just 21 seconds to go. Sophomore guard Evan Haywood knocked down a trio of three-pointers in just an 18-second span, keeping Butler alive until the bitter end. Creighton closed out the game with stellar free throw shooting, though, making 14 of its 15 attempts.
For Butler, a high final point total masked significant offensive issues. Junior guard Finley Bizjack’s December woes continued with a 1-for-7 three-point performance, while Haywood was an ice-cold 0-of-6 from deep before his late surge.
Butler did stay true to its brand inside the arc, dominating the offensive glass 21-10. However, capitalizing on those opportunities was a different story. The Bulldogs netted just 18 second chance points compared to 13 for the Bluejays, leaving points on the board time and time again after earning extra possessions.
Butler will have to regroup before a pair of tough home matchups against Villanova on Jan. 3 and St. John’s on Jan. 6.
