Butler sizzles from floor, cruises past Hanover
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS” Roosevelt Jones gathered the opening tip and lobbed to Khyle Marshall for a crowd-pleasing jam.
The rest of the night came nearly as easily for Butler.
Marshall and Rotnei Clarke scored 19 points apiece to lead the Bulldogs to a 97-73 rout of Division III Hanover on Tuesday. Butler shot 59 percent and dominated the glass 43-19. The Bulldogs placed all five starters in double figures for the first time since 2005, the school said.
We moved it well, looked for one another, Butler coach Brad Stevens said. They tested us in a lot of ways. We found guys inside.
The Bulldogs led 10-0 less than 4 minutes into the game and never trailed. The lead remained in double digits for all but 25 seconds of the second half.
Butler (4-2) was playing its first game since finishing second in the Maui Invitational and started off on the right foot in a three-game homestand against in-state opponents.
Andrew Smith tied a season-high with 13 points and Kellen Dunham scored 12. Roosevelt Jones added 10 points and eight rebounds.
We had a size advantage and took advantage, said Smith, who made 5 of 7 shots, all layups.
Hanover’s roster featured no player taller than 6-foot-6, and the Bulldogs repeatedly used superior height and strength to punish the Panthers inside. Butler led 45-35 at halftime by scoring 26 points in the paint.
I felt we would be overmatched at certain positions, Hanover coach Jon Miller said. We got Marshall, Smith, some of those guys going a little bit.
Hanover (3-1) shot 42 percent and attempted only 11 free throws to Butler’s 26. Michael Van Kleunen and Ryan Nowicki scored 15 points each for the Panthers, who have 10 players from Indiana on their 15-man roster.
Anytime we play in Hinkle Fieldhouse, it’s a great opportunity for our kids, Miller said. They understand the history and significance of Hinkle.
Butler improved to 13-2 against the small school from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic conference and has not lost to the Panthers since 1910.
Stevens watched his team go inside time and again to ensure this would not be the year Hanover won. In the first half, 10 of the Bulldogs’ 16 field goals were layups or dunks.
It was by their design as much as anything else, said Stevens, citing Miller’s strategy of forcing Dunham and Clarke off the 3-point line.
That didn’t work either.
Clarke made 3 of 4 3-point tries in the opening 20 minutes to gain separation. On one dazzling play, Clarke began to dribble toward a screen-and-roll with Smith, only to see the big man dive toward the rim sooner than expected. Undaunted, Clarke changed direction, spun to his right and rose for a 3 that gave Butler a 34-18 lead with 5:46 left in the first half.
Clarke made 5 of 6 3s and shot 6 of 8 overall in 25 minutes. The Butler starters – Jones, Marshall, Smith, Dunham and Clarke – combined to hit 27 of 42.
The bench got involved once the outcome was decided.
Jackson Aldridge had a season-high seven points and was one of six Bulldog reserves to score. With the student section chanting for a 3-point try, Aldridge declined to shoot and accepted a shot-clock violation in the final 2 seconds. Butler narrowly avoided scoring 100 points for the first time since Dec. 8, 2001.
Stevens didn’t care about that. In his mind, facing a school outmatched in size and athleticism, all the Bulldogs did was take care of business, especially on the boards.
We should’ve had a big advantage in rebounding tonight, Stevens said. If we didn’t that’s a problem.
Butler next plays Saturday at home against Ball State.
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