Providence beats Butler in Top 15 showdown
INDIANAPOLIS >> No. 9 Butler spent the first 20 minutes Thursday playing like it has most of the season. Tough, stingy and opportunistic. Then it all went away. Rodney Bullock scored a career-high 25 points, Kris Dunn flirted with a tripledouble and No. 12 Providence overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to stun the Bulldogs 81-73 in the Big East opener for both teams.
“We did not have a good approach coming out at halftime and that was my fault,” coach Chris Holtmann said. “I really felt we were not as aggressive or as alert as we needed to be, coming out at halftime and that’s on me.”
Whatever the explanation, things did not go well for the Bulldogs (11-2).
Kelan Martin scored 20 points, and Roosevelt Jones finished with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. But the Bulldogs were just 3 of 17 on 3-pointers, while the Friars (13-1) went 9 of 12 from beyond the arc in the second half.
It was enough to quiet rare sellout crowd that showed up for only the second Top 15 matchup in Hinkle Fieldhouse history. But unlike that wild Saturday night in January 2013, when Jones’ buzzer-beating floater upset Gonzaga, the Bulldogs didn’t have that it this time.
“They’ve got a lot of weapons on that end (offense) and they made it difficult for us in the second half,” Jones said. “But we should have adjusted better to it.”
Instead, Dunn turned the game by making the adjustments coach Ed Cooley wanted.
After struggling with foul trouble in the first half, Dunn made sure things were different in the second half.
The junior guard and preseason favorite as conference player of the year had 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as he chased his second triple double of the month. The Friars have won seven straight and are off to their best start in 27 years.
“As long as we’ve got Kris Dunn here, we’re going to make sure he earns his scholarship because he’s not going to be here much longer,” Cooley said, drawing laughter.
Bullock started the day 7 of 26 on 3s, but went 6 of 9 against Butler. He also had 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
Ben Bentil added 19 points and made the 3 that broke a 47-43 lead with 13:48 left, a lead the Friars didn’t give up the rest of the way.
“We just, collectively, all got it together,” Dunn said, explaining the difference in the second half.
With Dunn in charge, the Friars went on an 18-3 spurt and took a 47-43 lead on Bentil’s 3, which gave Providence the momentum it needed to fend off Butler’s spurts.
After Butler tied it at 59, Providence broke the tie with eight straight points.
When Dunn returned to the bench after picking up his fourth foul, the Bulldogs scored seven straight to make it 6766. But when Dunn re-entered, the Friars put it away with free-throw shooting and defense.
Big 5 Roundup
FLORIDA GULF COAST 86, LA SALLE 77 >> Julian DeBose had a season-high 20 points, Antravious Simmons had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Florida Gulf Coast defeated La Salle.
Marc Eddy Norelia added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Eagles (7-7), who outrebounded the Explorers 39-29. 7-0 when it wins the boards.
Cleon Roberts was 10 of 14 from the field for a career-high 30 points and Jordan Price had 25 for the Explorers (4-6).
Florida Gulf Coast built a 19-point lead behind Simmons’ 12 points in the first half but the Explorers shot 55 percent and Price scored 19 points in the second half to keep it a game. Price had a 3-point play with 5:51 left to cut it to six but DeBose quickly answered with a 3-pointer to start an 8-0 surge. UNC WILMINGTON 75, DREXEL 63 >> Chris Flemmings scored 17 points, making 15 of 16 free throws, and North Carolina Wilmington opened Colonial Athletic Association play with a win.
C.J. Bryce added 14 points for the balanced Seawolves (9-3), who finished 29 of 38 from the foul line. Flemmings, a transfer from Barton, hit double figures for the 11th time in 12 games despite going 1 of 3 from the field. Jordon Talley had a careerhigh eight assists.
Rodney Williams had 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds — 10 on the offensive end — for the Dragons (2-10), who were 14 of 19 from the line.
Wilmington shot 55 percent and made 14 of 20 free throws in the first half to open a 41-30 lead. Drexel got within nine twice early in the second half but went a fourminute stretch without a field goal and fell behind by 16.
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