Michael Ajayi logged Butler’s first 20-rebound game since 1983. Photo by Drew Kosmak.
DAVID JACOBS | MANAGING EDITOR | drjacobs@butler.edu
The men’s basketball team bounced back after an ugly outing against UConn with a 61-58 grudge match over Northwestern in the Indy Classic.
Both teams crawled out of the gate, going a combined 0-of-9 from the field before a short jumper from Northwestern graduate guard Jayden Reid initiated the scoring.
As the game matured, each squad slowly settled down and started to string together consecutive made baskets. For the Dawgs, it was the streaky shooting of redshirt-sophomore forward Jamie Kaiser Jr. that propelled them to a 29-23 lead after a half littered with air balls, turnovers and ugly basketball.
Kaiser, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half, was ultimately sidelined in the second half after rolling his ankle. X-rays came back clean, though, and head coach Thad Matta does not appear to be overly worried about his future availability.
“It’s the same ankle he hurt at the end of the Providence game,” Matta said. “No breaks, just [needs] some treatment to get him back ready to go.”
Slow starts are nothing new for the Dawgs, having overcome slumps against Wright State and Eastern Michigan. However, what is foreign territory was a scoreless half from junior guard and leading scorer Finley Bizjack, who finished the day with just six points.
“Starting the game slow offensively wasn’t really a big deal for us because we wanted to emphasize the defensive end,” Reid said. “We did a good job on Bizjack, but there are other good players on the team, and we didn’t do a good job finding them early on. We let Haywood and Kaiser get two threes, so not letting those other guys affect the game was going to be important [to secure a win].”
The Bulldogs strided out to a quick 11-point advantage at the start of the second half, appearing to have full control of the game until a scoring drought spanning over four minutes enabled the Wildcats to claw back to a two-point deficit with just over three minutes left to play. However, after a presumed game-tying corner three-pointer from first-year forward Tre Singleton was ruled a two-point basket, the Dawgs were able to persevere despite scoring just six points in the final six minutes and thirty seconds.
Despite the winning effort, it was an all-around poor effort for the Dawgs. Sloppy turnovers — although minimized in the second half — persisted throughout the game, and far too many possessions relied heavily on isolation-ball and not enough on set design plays.
“We were fortunate to get out of here with the win today,” Matta said. “I did not think we played well at all, but give these guys credit … We kept defending until the end.”
Both offensively and defensively, the Dawgs owe a big thanks for the win to the play of graduate forward Michael Ajayi, who continued his season-long tear with his ninth double-double of the season, going for 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.
“Whenever I’m not scoring, I just try to crash [the glass] as much as possible,” Ajayi said. “It’s just a gift from God; trying to find the ball as much as I can to help our team.”
The Dawgs will be back in Hinkle on Dec. 22 with their last non-conference game of the season against NJIT.
