Butler showed marked improvement in its second straight game against a ranked opponent.
The Bulldogs still came away with a loss, though, and will have a quick turnaround to face Penn State in the consolation bracket of the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday in Kissimmee, Fla.
Butler (3-2) faced No. 19 Florida Atlantic in Thursday’s opening round and trailed the Owls by as many as 10 early on. The Bulldogs turned a nine-point hole in the second half into a four-point lead before FAU — last season’s Final Four darling — counterpunched and came back to win 91-86.
The Bulldogs’ previous outing was a 74-54 defeat at then-No. 18 Michigan State in which they shot 28.8 percent overall. That number jumped up to 50 percent (30 of 60) against FAU.
Jahmyl Telfort led Butler with a season-high 19 points and five rebounds. Pierre Brooks and DJ Davis each added 13 points, with Davis hitting the 1,000-point mark for his career.
“I thought we did a good job getting back (in the game at the end of the first half). Thought we played a little bit tougher there, through stretches in the second half,” Butler coach Thad Matta said. “Just telling the guys, our margin for error, we’ve got to come up with first-time rebounds. When you play a team like Florida Atlantic — that is an unbelievable basketball team. When you deviate and you make mistakes, they make you pay.”
Penn State (4-1) learned a similar lesson in its 89-77 loss to No. 12 Texas A&M earlier Thursday. The Nittany Lions were outrebounded 33-20 and gave up a 56-38 difference in points in the paint, so coach Mike Rhoades is looking for more grit.
“Just couldn’t get stops, couldn’t get 50/50 balls,” Rhoades said. “And that was the difference in the game. You have to get 50/50 balls and I thought they just punished us in the paint today.”
Kanye Clary scored 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting to lead Penn State against the Aggies. Clary is now averaging 17.8 points per game to open the season.
For Butler, Telfort raised his season average to 13.6 ppg and Brooks is averaging 13.2. St. John’s transfer Posh Alexander had 12 points and a season-high nine assists for the Bulldogs on Thursday.
Friday’s winner will advance to the fifth-place game, while the loser will play for seventh place.
–Field Level Media