National Basketball Association
Butler 78, Providence 61
When: 3:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 1, 2017
Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials:
# Anthony Chiazza, # Mike Eades, # Jamie Luckie
Attendance:
8403
By The Sports Xchange
INDIANAPOLIS -- Perhaps the thing Butler coach Chris Holtmann liked best about his team finally getting over the hump against Providence was the team's balanced scoring assault. Four Bulldogs cracked double figures and eight scored six or more points.
"It was good to see," Holtmann said. "We have guys that are capable of going for big nights but as a coach if you can have balance to your offensive numbers, then it much harder to guard than one or two guys that can have big nights."
Junior forward Kelan Martin paced the attack with 15 points to help guide No. 13 Butler to a 78-61 victory over Providence in Big East action on Sunday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs (12-2, 1-1 Big East) shot 61.9 percent from the field. Providence' (10-5, 0-2) lost its third consecutive game. Providence had won six of the previous seven meetings with Butler in the last three seasons.
Holtmann said he was pleased with the way his team responded after losing its Big East opener at St. John's on Thursday night.
"A lot of guys made significant contributions to the win," Holtmann said. "Players win games and they stepped up and made plays.
Martin, who had a team-high eight rebounds, was really the only with an off-shooting game with a 4-of-13 shooting effort. Joining Martin in double figures were Avery Woodson and Andrew Chrabascz with 11 points each and Kethan Savage with 10 points. Tyler Wideman just missed with nine points.
Butler's bench outscored Providence's bench 29-5
"If we're going to have success in the Big East we're going to need that (bench scoring)," Holtmann said.
Providence coach Ed Cooley said he was very impressed with Butler's offensive firepower.
"The players know their roles and are very comfortable in their roles," Cooley said. "They can hurt you in a lot of different roles."
Friars junior guard Kyron Cartwright hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut Butler's lead to 56-46 with 11:59 remaining but the Bulldogs responded with 11-2 run to regain command for a spell. Providence eventually cut the lead to 65-56 with 6:39 to go on a 3-pointer by Jalen Lindsey.
Butler answered with 7-0 run to shut off any hopes of a Friars comeback.
"We have not played well in four straight games and I'm trying to figure out why," Cooley said. "We're getting off to slow starts and teams are shooting scintillating percentages against us. You are not giving yourself a chance to win when teams are shooting 70 or 60 percent and you're missing free throws and making a lot of mistakes. It's a young group but it's a tough league. We're probably the only team in a high major league to play two road games against two of the better teams in the best conference in the country. Defensively, we're just not very good right now. Teams are just too comfortable against us right now."
Cartwright finished with a career-high 26 points to lead Providence. Rodney Bullock added 17 points for the Friars, who shot just 38.6 percent from the field.
The Bulldogs sank 72.6 percent (16 of 22) of their shots in the first half to take a 45-26 lead over Providence at intermission. In contrast, the Friars were 11 of 30 from the field for 36.7 percent in the first half. Providence made just one of 10 3-point attempts.
Leading 14-9, the Bulldogs went on a tear. Butler took its largest lead at 22 points when Martin hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 36-14 advantage. Providence's only lead was 2-0.
The Bulldogs will play host to No. 1 and defending national champion Villanova on Wednesday. The Friars will return to action Wednesday as well, playing their first Big East home game against Georgetown.
NOTES: Butler junior F Kelan Martin, who entered the game with 999 points, hit the first of two free throws with 14:35 to go in the first half to register his 1,000th career point. ... Providence is now 1-3 against Top 25 teams this season. ... Butler coach Chris Holtmann said the team will apply for a hardship waiver to redshirt Butler freshman Joey Brunk, whose father, Joe, is battling cancer. Brunk has not played in five of the last six games.
Top Game Performances
| Providence |
|
Butler |
|
Kyron Cartwright 26 |
Scoring |
Kelan Martin 15 |
|
Kyron Cartwright 4 |
Assists |
Andrew Chrabascz 4 |
|
Emmitt Holt 7 |
Rebounds |
Kelan Martin 8 |
|
Rodney Bullock 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Kelan Martin 5 |
|
Kalif Young 3 |
Steals |
Andrew Chrabascz 3 |
|
Alpha Diallo 1 |
Blocks |
Kamar Baldwin 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Providence
|
61 |
38.6 |
6-22 |
11-22 |
9 |
26 |
2 |
7 |
11 |
| Butler
|
78 |
61.9 |
8-14 |
18-25 |
13 |
27 |
2 |
6 |
14 |
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