Temple’s quest to get to the title game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off fell short Friday afternoon as the Owls fell to No. 22 Butler, 74-69, in San Juan. “We had good looks at the basket, maybe better shots than what we had been making in our first couple of games”.
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Fresh off a 105-79 demolition against Mississippi State on Thursday, the Hurricanes backed it up with an even more impressive performance during the second round of the Puerto Rico Tipoff against the Utes. After missing two of their first 12 shots, the Bulldogs knocked down 4-of-6 shots from the field during the run.
“Defensively, we’ve got to get way better”, Howland said. Butler “responded” by falling back on the fundamentals of successful basketball: Defense and rebounding. Butler grabbed an astounding 12 offensive rebounds in the first half and went on an 11-2 run over a 2:29 stretch to trim its deficit to 23-20 following a possession in which it grabbed a pair of offensive boards.
And with three of those players now in the National Basketball Association, addressing those losses would not be a simple task for Sean Miller and his coaching staff. But what will help in that quest is Arizona’s depth, and that attribute was on display Thursday night as they beat Boise State 88-76 in an unbracketed game in the Wooden Legacy.
The Bulldogs will play Temple Friday. They also got to the line 15 times, 10 fewer than Miami.
Butler shot 61 percent in the first half and committed just two turnovers. No Bulldog epitomized the offensive frustration more so than Kellen Dunham.
Tonye Jekiri added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Hurricanes (4-0), who took control early and never let the Utes make a serious push to climb back in it. Miami shot 53 percent and turned away every spurt from Utah in another dominant showing in San Juan. He paced Butler with five assists. “When we’re out there, we just execute what they want us to do”. “He didn’t shoot it great today, but that threat is there. The other thing he does so well is he cuts so hard that opens up lanes for others and that’s a tribute to him”. “I love my guys, and this is really going to help us”. However, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t contribute.
Carlos Morris added 12 points for the Gophers (3-1), who got off to a fast start to build a double-digit lead that reached 18 points early in the second half. “Tyler Lewis (with) 10 assists, he really is a difference maker out there”. When asked if his players would have any fun Saturday on their day off, he said, “I think I’m going to tie them all up in the hotel… and starve ’em”.
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Instead, Lewis hit two crucial three-pointers midway through the second half and scored 14 of his 16 points after intermission to keep Temple at arm’s length.
