Butler builds 24 point lead, squanders most of it but holds on to beat struggling Buffalo

INDIANAPOLIS -- After an emotional overtime win over Texas Tech, Butler started slow Tuesday against Buffalo and failed to pull away late, but did just enough in between to earn a 72-59 win inside Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Jalen Thomas led Butler with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The double-double is Thomas' first at Butler and fourth of his career. Pierre Brooks scored 17 points. Jahmyl Telfort scored 18 points and set a new career high with eight assists.

Butler starts slow after big win

For a group of college-aged players, experiencing a letdown after an emotional win is a common occurrence. But starting slow against one of the worst teams in Division I is a little discouraging. Butler could not buy a basket against Buffalo's zone defense early on, starting the game 2-for-12 from the field.

The Dawgs struggled to get the ball inside, struggled to connect from deep on kick outs to the perimeter, and struggled to play with any flow on offense early in the first half. Jalen Thomas helped the Dawgs break out of their funk, scoring 10 of his 18 points in the first half. Finley Bizjack's buzzer-beating 3-pointer was his second before halftime, helping Butler end on a 6-0 run.

Butler led by as many as 24 points in the second half. Buffalo cut its deficit to five 3:23 left in the game, but the Bulls would not score again.

"We weren't very good," Butler coach Thad Matta said. “Just from the start, we weren't as sharp as we needed to be, we didn't play as hard as we needed to play, we didn't play as smart as we needed to play. We gotta play better. That's the bottom line."

Jalen Thomas finds his offense

Jalen Thomas' 18 points were a season high and his second double-digit scoring game of the season. Thomas finished at the rim with dunks, showed nice touch in the paint and connected on multiple short jumpers.

Getting the fifth-year center going will be key for Butler. Thomas is Butler's best rim protector and rebounder. He missed one exhibition game with a foot injury, and his minutes had been a bit limited, playing less than 20 minutes in the first five games of the season.

Thomas has his stamina back, and remains Butler's best option at center, even with backup Andre Screen playing well when Thomas is off the court. Thomas showed great chemistry with Telfort and Posh Alexander in the pick-and-roll, catching the ball down low or going up high for an alley-oop slam.

"In what we're getting ready to go against here coming down the pike, we've got to have a post presence," Matta said. "The other night (against Texas Tech) it was Andre (Screen). Andre was a heck of a post presence.”

Dawgs played strong perimeter defense, for a half.

In today's outside-shooting oriented game, teams live and die by the 3-pointer. Butler held Buffalo to 0% from 3 in the first half. The Bulls missed their first 14 attempts from deep. Anquan Boldin Jr., son of NFL veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin, hit Buffalo's first triple with 12:58 left in the game.

Butler spent time in a zone defense, playing passing lanes and closing out on shooters. Buffalo is one of the worst offense teams in the nation, but its offense found its rhythm in the second half.

The Bulls finished 6-for-26 (23%) from the 3. The visitors made one more 3 than the Bulldogs and shot 2% better for the game. Butler struggled to put the Bulls away, and to their credit, the visitors never backed down.

"Everybody's got to do their job every single minute we play, and it doesn't have to be perfect," Matta said. "I'm not asking for perfection, but they gotta do what they're supposed to do and how they're supposed to do it. We kind of went rogue. We were tripping out there tonight in terms of not following a game plan defensively and just sort of playing, it didn't work for us."

Butler vs. Buffalo box score

Butler 72, Buffalo 59

BUFFALO (1-8) -- Chatman 7-11 0-2 16, Williamson 2-4 0-0 4, Boldin 3-7 3-4 10, Fulcher 4-14 0-0 8, Sabol 2-10 0-0 6, Smith 1-4 2-2 4, McVeigh 2-4 0-0 5, Jones 3-8 0-0 6, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 5-8 59.

BUTLER (7-2) -- Telfort 8-16 2-2 18, Thomas 8-15 2-2 18, Alexander 3-6 2-4 8, Davis 1-7 0-0 2, Brooks 7-14 0-0 17, Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Bizjack 2-4 0-0 6, Screen 1-1 1-2 3, Turnbull 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-67 7-10 72.

Halftime—Butler 35-26. 3-Point Goals_Buffalo 6-26 (Chatman 2-4, Sabol 2-8, Boldin 1-2, McVeigh 1-3, Jones 0-2, Fulcher 0-7), Butler 5-24 (Brooks 3-8, Bizjack 2-4, Alexander 0-1, Moore 0-2, Telfort 0-2, Turnbull 0-2, Davis 0-5). Rebounds_Buffalo 31 (Chatman 8), Butler 36 (Thomas 10). Assists_Buffalo 11 (Boldin 3), Butler 18 (Telfort 8). Total Fouls_Buffalo 11, Butler 9.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball beats Buffalo behind Jahmyl Telfort, Jalen Thomas