Butler is 13-9 and has lost two-straight games. Photo by Jada Gangazha.
SAWYER GOLDWEIN | MANAGING EDITOR | sgoldwein@butler.edu
Offense was not hard to find early in a much-needed bounceback game for the men’s basketball team against Georgetown. Unfortunately for the Dawgs, scoring became much more difficult as the game progressed, leading to a 77-64 loss.
Redshirt sophomore forward Jamie Kaiser Jr led the charge early for Butler with seven quick points. Then, the Hoyas got a burst of energy when junior guard KJ Lewis hammered home a dunk off a Bulldog turnover.
The Bulldogs kept things close through the under-12 timeout, but a 6-of-9 three-point shooting start from Georgetown put Butler down by as many as 11 points. Junior guard Finley Bizjack knocked down a couple of triples to keep the Dawgs in it, heading into the break down by only four.
The second half began similarly to the first, with Georgetown keeping the Bulldogs at a distance with minimal turnovers and strong shot selection.
However, it did not take long for Butler’s offense to completely shut down, shooting a dismal 5-of 33 from the field in the second half.
Head coach Thad Matta is running out of answers for how to prevent a few missed shots from killing all offensive momentum.
“I don’t know,” Matta said. “I really don’t. You can’t shoot 15% in the second half of the Big East game and have a chance to win.”
The Bulldogs’ guard rotation was different than normal with Matta looking for answers.
First-year Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor got extended minutes, while sophomore Evan Haywood played just five minutes in the second half, and graduate Yame Butler only saw the court for five minutes all game.
“I thought [Oliogu-Elabor] brought some pretty good energy,” Matta said. “[He was a better matchup]. We were trying to find guys that had made shots. We were hoping something was going to click there.”
The adjustments did not work, with Butler suffering arguably its most brutal loss this season, likely crushing any remaining tournament hopes for Bulldog faithful.
