Dre Davis scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, Kadary Richmond added 20 points and host Seton Hall won for the fifth time in six games by staving off Butler 76-64 Saturday night in Newark, N.J.
Al-Amir Dawes had 19 points for Seton Hall (18-9, 11-5 Big East), which never trailed and forced Butler into shooting droughts to bookend the game. Jaden Bediako added nine points and nine rebounds.
Jalen Thomas scored 12 points to lead the Bulldogs (16-12, 7-10), who lost their fourth straight. Posh Alexander and DJ Davis each added 11.
The Pirates turned 16 Butler turnovers into 18 points and shot 49.2 percent from the field. Butler was held to 38.9 percent shooting but made 12 of 33 3-point tries, sinking eight in the first half to stay close.
Pierre Brooks II hit a 3-pointer to cap a 10-4 Butler run, cutting Seton Hall’s lead to 53-51 with 10:33 to play. The Bulldogs proceeded to miss their next seven field-goal attempts over a span of 7:50, scoring just four free throws in that stretch.
Richmond dribbled through traffic and rolled in a layup off the rim to put the Pirates up 61-53 with 6:18 to play. Dylan Addae-Wusu’s layup put Seton Hall 65-55 at 3:57, and it was a double-digit game the rest of the way.
Seton Hall ran up an early 16-3 lead by turning defense into offense. Davis, Dawes and Richmond all turned steals near midcourt into fast-break baskets.
Alexander made three 3-pointers for Butler while the rest of his team began 0-for-11 from the field. But his third triple prompted a 7-0 run that got the Bulldogs back in the game.
Brooks, Thomas and DJ Davis knocked down consecutive triples and Landon Moore added one for Butler to cut its deficit to 31-27 with 2:28 left in the half. Dawes responded with back-to-back 3-pointers, and Seton Hall led 37-32 at halftime.
Butler got within two points twice early in the second, but Dawes made a corner 3 in transition for a 49-41 Seton Hall advantage with 12:48 to play.
–Field Level Media