Game Recap: McCaffery’s Threes, Telfort’s Frees Lead Butler Over EIU 73-58

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INDIANAPOLIS — Fresh off their wonderful showing in Tempe, Arizona, which included an Arizona Tip-Off title, the Butler Bulldogs have kept riding their hot streak as they returned home to face Eastern Illinois on Tuesday.

It was a rule of 20s on this night for Jahmyl Telfort and Patrick McCaffery. They scored 20 points apiece leading the Bulldogs to a 73-58 victory over the Panthers.

Even with the victory it was still a struggle most of the way for what head coach Thad Matta would prefer to see from his group of players. That was illustrated in the fact that Butler committed 17 turnovers.

“We were not sharp mentally tonight,” he said. “We were at times, but not at the level we needed to be. We told our guys that (Eastern Illinois) was going to be physical. They did a great job of knocking us back. We can’t let that happen.”

Turnovers have been a lingering issue for the Bulldogs since the beginning of the season.

The Dawgs and Panthers held tough with each other for the first part of the game. EIU kept it close by hitting five of their first six attempts from three-point range anchored by Kooper Jacobi, who finished the night with 22 points.

The Panthers had a 24-22 lead with 5:22 to play in the first half. Soon after, the Bulldogs would reclaim the lead thanks to a run initiated by Pierre Brooks and Andre Screen. The 12-to-3 run for the Bulldogs gave them a 36-27 lead at the half.

The run continued into the early portion of the second half. Patrick McCaffery sank consecutive 3-pointers to swell the Bulldogs lead to 44-27 in the first two minutes.

“I like open threes,” McCaffery jokingly said after the game. “Being a good shooter is all for not if you are not on the same page as your teammates and can’t find open shots. We work a lot on stuff like that.”

It was not smooth sailing from there, unfortunately as turnovers remained a constant issue for the Bulldogs the rest of the night. EIU was able to return with a small 10-to-5 swing to cut the Butler lead to 55-48 with 7:50 to play.

A moderate scoring drought from the field didn’t help things either as the Dawgs made one bucket in a three-minute span. But during that time, they got to the foul line and that is where Jahmyl Telfort, the current Big East Player of the Week, excelled. He was a perfect 10-for-10 shooting free throws throughout the night.

The Panthers simply ran out of gas in the end despite the sloppy end to the game for the Bulldogs.

“Our margin for error is not very big,” Matta said after the game. “Every night we take the court we have to be as sharp as we possibly can be.”

Sharpness will be the name of the game this Saturday for the Bulldogs as they head south to face #17 Houston. The Cougars are among the top fifteen teams in the nation in defensive average giving up roughly 59 points per game. They will without a doubt play a bit mad this week having been dealt a loss to San Diego State last week.

Nevertheless, the Bulldogs have momentum on their side having won six in a row.