Butler survives last-second scare, ends 5-game skid with win over St. John's

Butler needed every last second on the clock to defeat St. John's.

With 0.8 seconds left in the game, St. John's center Joel Soriano looked to have sent the game to overtime with a tough basket in the paint. After the officials reviewed the play, the basket was waved off and Butler earned a 68-66 win.

The win is Butler's first since Jan. 13, ending its five-game losing skid as the Bulldogs improve to 12-13 overall and 4-10 in the Big East.

Here's three reasons why Butler ended its losing skid.

'Our guys kept fighting.'Butler didn't make it easy, but Dawgs get winning feeling back.

Manny Bates is back

Manny Bates started the season on fire with consecutive double-doubles to start his Butler career. The NC State transfer slowed down as the season progressed as he tried to play through knee pain. He had his knee drained, missed two games and returned to his usual workload, but it wasn't until Tuesday's game against St. John's that Bates played like the dominant player he showed early on.

Bates displayed his explosiveness in the first half, catching an alley-oop from Simas Lukosius for a thunderous slam. Bates converted another lob from Myles Tate and slammed home a missed Ali Ali jumper with an acrobatic put back. Defensively, Bates moved his feet well, contesting shots and keeping the ball alive when he couldn't grab the rebound. Bates scored 12 points in the first half. The 12 points were more than he had in any game since Jan. 1 against Georgetown.

Bates finished with 15 points and six rebounds. He said he felt great pregame, and knew he had to bring toughness for the Dawgs to get the win.

"We had this stretch for five, six games where we weren't the tougher team," Bates said. "So coming into this (game), our mindset was we had to be the tougher team. We knew they're gonna be physical with us. So we had to bring the fight to them as they're going to bring to us and match their intensity."

Myles Tate provides boost, Jayden Taylor finishes

Playing in their second game without starting guard Chuck Harris, the Bulldogs needed additional contributions from someone to pick up the slack. Starters Eric Hunter Jr. and Ali had quiet nights combining for seven points, but Myles Tate came off the bench and provided a spark in the first half.

In a four-minute span, Tate made two 3-pointers, grabbed a rebound and dished out an assist. His first triple tied the score at 19, and his presence briefly injected life into the Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd. Injury and illness have taken much of the past two seasons from Tate, but the South Carolina native proved to capable Big East player as a freshman.

It'll be interesting to see what Tate's role is moving forward. At the very least, he could form a talented second-team backcourt with Jayden Taylor once Harris returns.

Taylor has played well since moving into the starting lineup. He scored a team-high 19 points, made tough drives to the basket and converted free throws in crunch time.

"Just in trust the work we put in every day," Taylor said of his ability to score in critical situations. "We come in and practice every day, just trusting and being confident in myself and my teammates. Knowing we've got to score and I do this everyday, coming in and working for hours, everyday."

Interior defense struggles

Butler's had a lot of bad luck when it comes to tough, contested shots finding the basket. That is true, but the Dawgs have also allowed a lot of easy baskets around the rim, and the Red Storm exploited that in both meetings with the Dawgs.

In St. John's first game against Butler, center Joel Soriano dominated down low scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. In game number two, St. John spread out its offense but the plan of action remained the same — attack the basket. Soriano and Posh Alexander got to the basket at will early. Once the interior was softened, the Red Storm started connecting from deep.

Bates held his own, recording three blocks. The three blocks are the most he's had in a game since his three blocks against Providence in late December. Butler has to find some way to protect the interior. Outside of Bates, the Dawgs don't have another big and strong body. Jalen Thomas can handle the 5 in spurts, but he's probably best suited to play the four.

Late in the game, Butler did a great job of putting multiple bodies on the player driving to the basket. The Dawgs walled off the rim at times, but in crunch time, Alexander and Soriano made the baskets they needed to inside. Soriano got a decent look in the final seconds, but he did not get the shot off in time.

"I thought our guys kept fighting," Butler coach Thad Matta said. "I thought our guys kept playing. I think we held them scoreless the last three or four minutes of the game there. And we were able to make some defensive adjustments. Manny did a really good job. Jalen (Thomas) did a really good job.

"The biggest thing for us tonight was was our ability to take care of the ball. We only had 11 turnovers, we had 22 when we played them last time. But no, the last minute there was nuts, it really was."

Follow IndyStar Butler Insider Akeem Glaspie on Twitter at @THEAkeemGlaspie.

Butler 68, St. John's 66

ST. JOHN'S (14-11): Stanley 3-3 0-1 6, Soriano 4-10 3-3 11, Addae-Wusu 3-8 0-0 8, Alexander 8-11 1-2 17, Storr 2-6 0-0 4, Pinzon 6-10 0-0 14, Curbelo 2-10 0-0 4, Nyiwe 1-1 0-0 2, King 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-59 4-6 66.

BUTLER (12-13): Bates 6-11 3-4 15, Hunter 1-4 2-2 5, Taylor 6-12 6-9 19, Ali 1-7 0-0 2, Lukosius 4-12 0-2 11, Tate 2-5 0-0 6, J.Thomas 3-4 3-4 10, Wilmoth 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 14-21 68.

Halftime—St. John's 41-34. 3-Point Goals_St. John's 4-10 (Pinzon 2-3, Addae-Wusu 2-4, Alexander 0-1, Storr 0-2), Butler 8-24 (Lukosius 3-7, Tate 2-5, J.Thomas 1-1, Hunter 1-3, Taylor 1-5, Ali 0-3). Rebounds_St. John's 31 (Soriano 12), Butler 29 (Ali 8). Assists_St. John's 16 (Alexander 6), Butler 19 (Lukosius 5). Total Fouls_St. John's 16, Butler 11.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball snaps skid, avoids last second scare vs. St. John's