3 reasons Butler basketball beat Georgetown: Dawgs complete season sweep over Hoyas
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler survived a potential tying 3-pointer by Georgetown before the buzzer, and the Bulldogs held on for a 56-53 victory Saturday in Big East basketball before a Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd of 8,156.
Aaron Thompson sank a go-ahead layup with 1:05 left, and Chuck Harris’ two free throws with 16 seconds left expanded the Bulldogs’ lead to three points.
Georgetown’s Donald Carey missed from the right corner with two seconds left. Butler’s Simas Lukosius cleared the rebound, and time expired.
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The outcome completed a season sweep of the Hoyas, something Butler had done only in 2016. Butler was ahead for all of the closing 29 minutes.
Lukosius had 13 points, and Bryce Nze and Thompson 12 each for the Bulldogs (11-10, 4-6). It was the second home win of the week and raised their Big East home record to 3-3.
Aminu Mohammed, the Big East’s top freshman scorer, had 16 points for Georgetown (6-12, 0-7).
Three reasons Butler won:
Bryce Nze does it all
Nze does so much, all in unspectacular fashion, that sometimes his contributions are overlooked.
He can score around the rim. He can rebound. He can pass. He can defend. He can (occasionally) shoot 3-pointers.
He did all of the above against Georgetown — 12 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, one 3 — and added a new twist: He blocked three shots, some at crucial moments. He also leaped high to spear a near-errant pass for a dunk to begin the second half.
Nze was chosen a preseason All-Big East second-team player by coaches in October 2020 in recognition of his all-around skills. Maybe won’t get any postseason accolades. He can get Butler some wins.
Lethal Lithuanian
Lukosius is rarely spectacular — unless throwing one of his behind-the-back passes — but often efficient.
In one sequence late in the first half, Lukosius grabbed a rebound, immediately turned and flung a baseball pass to Bo Hodges for a dunk. Seconds later, he caught a pass from Nze and swished a 3-pointer. The two plays quickly expanded Butler’s one-point lead to 26-20.
In Lukosius’ 11 first-half minutes, Butler was plus-10 with him on the floor.
He was beset by turnovers and fouls in the second half.
Defense digs down
Butler’s sputtering offense has too often sabotaged its half-court defense.
However, despite starting 2-of-12 from the field, this time the Bulldogs defended well enough to be within 8-6. Such poor shooting was not going to persist . . . and it didn’t.
Butler soon went on an 11-0 spurt to go ahead 19-11 under the eight-minute mark of the half.
Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
BUTLER 56, GEORGETOWN 53
GEORGETOWN (6-12) — Holloway 3-10 0-0 6, Ighoefe 1-1 0-0 2, Carey 5-11 0-1 12, D.Harris 3-11 0-0 7, Mohammed 6-12 4-5 16, Rice 1-5 0-0 3, Billingsley 0-2 2-2 2, Beard 0-2 0-0 0, Mutombo 2-4 1-1 5. Totals 21-58 7-9 53.
BUTLER (11-10) — Golden 2-8 0-0 5, Nze 5-12 1-2 12, C.Harris 1-8 2-2 4, Hodges 2-7 1-3 5, Thompson 6-8 0-0 12, Lukosius 4-9 2-2 13, Taylor 1-4 0-0 3, Groce 1-1 0-0 2, Bolden 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-58 6-9 56.
Halftime—Butler 32-26. 3-Point Goals: Georgetown 4-19 (Carey 2-5, D.Harris 1-4, Rice 1-4, Beard 0-1, Holloway 0-2, Mohammed 0-3), Butler 6-26 (Lukosius 3-8, Golden 1-3, Nze 1-3, Taylor 1-3, Bolden 0-1, Hodges 0-3, C.Harris 0-5). Rebounds: Georgetown 31 (D.Harris, Mohammed 6), Butler 35 (Nze 12). Assists: Georgetown 11 (D.Harris 5), Butler 8 (Thompson 3). Total Fouls: Georgetown 14, Butler 12.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 3 reasons why Butler basketball beat Georgetown in Big East play
