3 reasons Butler basketball beat Georgetown: Dawgs start 3-game East Coast trip with win

WASHINGTON – Butler, whose offensive tempo is one of the slowest in college basketball, played out of character.

It worked. Boy, did it work. Long enough anyway.

The Bulldogs outscored Georgetown 32-8 in span of about 11 minutes bridging the two halves, and they built a 20-point lead en route to a 72-58 victory Thursday night in the Big East.

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The outcome ended Butler’s five-game road losing streak in the conference. Including a Dec. 7 overtime win at Oklahoma, the Bulldogs are 2-0 on the road this season.

Jair Bolden scored 23 points, Bryce Nze 14 and Bryce Golden 11 for Butler (9-6, 2-2).

Bolden was two off his career high, set Dec. 6, 2017, against Princeton while he was at George Washington. He was 5-of-14 on 3s, one of his career high for 3s made.

Butler scored more points in the first seven minutes of the second half (21) than in the closing 13 minutes (19). But the Bulldogs never let the margin get closer than 12 after seizing a 53-33 lead.

It was the Bulldogs' sixth consecutive victory at Capital One Arena. (They lost at the on-campus McDonough Arena last year.) The Bulldogs continue a three-game trip with games Sunday at No. 14 Villanova and Tuesday at Connecticut.

Georgetown fell to 6-7, 0-2.

Three reasons Butler won:

Not exactly in a zone

Georgetown’s zone defense prevented the Bulldogs from getting into an early zone.

Butler was 5-of-18 on 3-pointers in the first half, taking more than half of its attempts from the arc. However, the Bulldogs made just enough and finished 9-of-31. They shot more 3s than 2s (28).

Consecutive 3s by Bolden and Nze were part of an 11-2 run closing the first half, allowing Butler to take a 32-27 lead into the locker room.

Then Golden, Bolden, Nze and Bolden again made 3s as Butler opened the second half on a 21-6 burst.

After starting 6-of-11 from the field, Butler shot 1-of-13. Ten of those 12 misses were 3-point attempts.

The zone was aimed at Aaron Thompson, whose ability to get into the paint produces points for himself and teammates. He was coming off a 20-point game in a loss to Xavier. The Hoyas’ strategy also restrained freshman Jayden Taylor, who was limited to two shots and four points.

Bo is back

Bo Hodges’ contributions might not all show up in the box score, but his presence was undeniable in his first game in 10 months.

He had two points, seven rebounds and two steals in 11 minutes.

Hodges endured a tibial plateau fracture in August, affecting knee and leg. (Full disclosure: I had such an injury in 1989, and it took one year to recover.)

Hodges supplied energy and perhaps affected Butler’s defense more than the offense.

He was once an All-Southern Conference forward for East Tennessee State. If he can help the Bulldogs at all, the difference in this team could be profound.

Digging in on defense

Butler limited Georgetown to 34% shooting, including some long droughts.

In one stretch bridging the halves, the Hoyas shot 1-of-12.

Aminu Mohammed, the top scoring freshman in the Big East (14.4 ppg), was 1-of-14 at one point and finished 2-of-16 for seven points.

For once, the Bulldogs encountered an opponent more short-handed than they are.

Georgetown was without two starters, Donald Carey (12.8 ppg) and Dante Harris (13.0 ppg).

Georgetown had four games postponed after a Dec. 18 loss to TCU. The Hoyas’ only game since then (Jan. 7) was a 92-64 loss to Marquette in which coach Patrick Ewing lambasted the players afterward.

Ewing missed the Butler game for health and safety protocols. Assistant coach Louis Orr was in charge.

Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.

Butler 72, Georgetown 58

BUTLER (8-6): Golden 5-8 0-0 11, Nze 5-9 2-2 14, Bolden 6-15 6-6 23, Taylor 1-2 2-3 4, Thompson 1-5 1-2 3, C.Harris 3-9 2-2 9, Lukosius 1-4 4-4 6, Hodges 1-5 0-0 2, Groce 0-2 0-0 0, Mulloy 0-0 0-0 0, Wilmoth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 17-19 72.

GEORGETOWN (6-7): Holloway 3-6 4-5 11, Ighoefe 2-5 0-1 4, Beard 4-11 6-7 15, Mohammed 2-16 3-7 7, Rice 1-9 2-2 5, Billingsley 4-6 0-2 8, Mutombo 4-5 0-0 8, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Azinge 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-59 15-24 58.

Halftime—Butler 32-27. 3-Point Goals_Butler 9-31 (Bolden 5-14, Nze 2-2, Golden 1-1, C.Harris 1-5, Taylor 0-1, Thompson 0-1, Groce 0-2, Hodges 0-2, Lukosius 0-3), Georgetown 3-16 (Holloway 1-3, Beard 1-4, Rice 1-8, Mohammed 0-1). Fouled Out_Lukosius. Rebounds_Butler 36 (Nze 8), Georgetown 39 (Ighoefe 9). Assists_Butler 12 (Taylor, Thompson 3), Georgetown 10 (Beard 5). Total Fouls_Butler 22, Georgetown 16.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler Bulldogs basketball: How Dawgs beat Georgetown Hoyas