Pierre Brooks II logged a game-high 23 factors and 12 rebounds for Butler, which began the second half with a decisive run to beat Merrimack 78-39 on Friday night time in Indianapolis.
Andre Display screen had 12 factors and 9 rebounds whereas Jahmyl Telfort and Patrick McCaffery put up 11 factors apiece for the Bulldogs (4-1). Evan Haywood added 10 factors.
Adam Clark led the Warriors (1-4) with eight factors. Matt Becht and David Murray every chipped in six factors for Merrimack.
The Bulldogs turned an in depth sport right into a rout with a 28-2 run to begin the second half. Butler led 37-31 at halftime however held Merrimack to 1-for-22 taking pictures from the sector and 0-of-9 from three-point vary for the primary 14 minutes of the second half.
Merrimack scored simply eight factors within the second half. The Warriors shot 29.8 % from the ground for the sport and 14.3 % (3-for-21) from lengthy distance.
Whereas the Warriors blended 2-3 and 1-3-1 zones to decelerate the Bulldogs’ offensive move within the first half, it was a distinct sport after halftime. Butler labored the ball across the perimeter to seek out holes within the Merrimack zone. Butler threw excessive to Display screen, who spun baseline for a layup and a 45-31 lead.
On the following defensive possession, Display screen blocked a shot, began the fastbreak with an outlet move, and pulled down an offensive rebound, which he adopted with a strong, two-hand slam because the Bulldogs began to tug away.
McCaffery drilled a nook 3-pointer to provide the Bulldogs a 50-33 edge with 11:14 left within the sport. Brooks’ jumper with simply over 10 minutes left within the sport gave Butler its first 20-point lead of the sport at 54-33.
An extended 3-pointer from Brooks with 7:36 left opened the Butler result in 63-33.
Merrimack broke the Butler onslaught with a fastbreak layup by Clark with 5:44 left within the sport, ending the Warriors’ five-plus-minute scoring drought.
–Discipline Degree Media