No. 13 Butler overpowers Richmond with size in A-10 home opener
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Butler lacked the brilliant outside shooting of Rotnei Clarke.
So coach Brad Stevens turned to the next best thing.
His thirteenth-ranked Bulldogs pounded smaller Richmond into submission inside in a dominant 62-47 victory Wednesday night. Butler held the Spiders to a season-low point total and seized its largest rebounding margin of the season, 53-20.
That was our advantage tonight, Stevens said. We talked about it all week. That’s a hard team to prepare for. Our guys stayed the course.
With Clarke, the Bulldogs’ top scorer, sidelined at least two games with a sprained neck, Roosevelt Jones and Andrew Smith capitalized on a size advantage to extend Butler’s winning streak to 12.
Jones had 10 points and 12 rebounds, his second double-double of the season, and Smith added 15 points, his third straight game in double figures. Four of Smith’s seven rebounds came on the offensive end. The Bulldogs missed 35 shots but gathered a season-high 20 offensive rebounds.
Richmond had cut a 20-point lead to nine midway through the second half. After a Butler timeout, Stevens had Jones run a designed play that resulted in a momentum-stopping layup by Smith.
The Bulldogs cruised from there.
We know when we throw it to Andrew he can either score for us or pass it out, Jones said.
Butler (15-2, 3-0 Atlantic 10) hardly missed Clarke as it continued its best start since 2008-09, when the Bulldogs opened 19-1. On Saturday, No. 8 Gonzaga visits Hinkle Fieldhouse to test Butler’s 8-0 mark at home.
I don’t pay attention to our record, Stevens said. I pay attention to getting better, to the process. We’re going to keep trying as best we can. We have unbelievable respect for Gonzaga. Butler’s a great place to be, and we can use all the attention we can get.
Richmond (11-7, 1-2) needed help inside, but with its top rebounder and second-leading scorer out with a sprained left ankle, aid was in short supply.
Coach Chris Mooney declined to cite Derrick Williams’ injury as an excuse.
We competed hard, Mooney said. Butler’s a great team. They’re a good defensive team. They’re very physical. Butler’s height and physicality was too much for us.
That became obvious early, as the Bulldogs snatched 15 of the game’s first 20 rebounds. After being knotted at 8, two baskets by Jones sent Butler on a 15-3 run. The Bulldogs held a lead for all of the final 34 minutes.
Toughness in the paint got them there.
Butler shot just 37.5 percent from the field for the game, its second-worst rate of the season and lowest since shooting 36.1 percent in a loss to Illinois on Nov. 21 in the championship game of the Maui Invitational.
Since then, Butler hasn’t lost, and Clarke is a big reason why. He leads the team in scoring (16.3 points per game) but suffered a nasty fall in the first half against Dayton Saturday. His absence caused Butler to look quite a bit different the first time out.
Freshman Kellen Dunham started in Clarke’s place, with Alex Barlow sliding to Clarke’s point guard spot and Dunham going at shooting guard. Dunham scored 11 points but shot 2 for 11, failing to replicate Clarke’s perimeter prowess.
Instead of raining 3-pointers, Butler flipped the switch on its considerable low-post power. The Bulldogs shot 5 for 19 (26.1 percent) from behind the arc. They survived by making 13 of their 21 successful field goals in the paint.
Butler outscored Richmond 28-12 in the lane and 21-6 on second-chance points.
You spend so much time worrying about Clarke’s shooting, Mooney said. They’re a different team without him. Dunham is not Clarke at this time.
Barlow put together one of his finest all-around games, scoring five points to go with five rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot. He limited explosive Spiders point guard Kendall Anthony to a season-low three points on 1-of-7 shooting. Anthony entered Wednesday averaging 13.4 points.
Our guys did a great job, Stevens said. Barlow and Rose did an awesome job handling the ball. We needed to.
Richmond never found any consistent source of offense. Darien Brothers led the way with 12 points and Cedrick Lindsay added nine.
The Spiders trailed 33-21 at halftime and fell behind by 20 with 12:41 remaining. Lindsay answered with two 3s that sparked Richmond’s last-ditch effort. Butler calmly restored order, putting the game away with an 8-1 run in which Dunham scored five points.
Clarke, who has no public timetable for a return to the lineup, watched from the bench as the team entered uncharted waters without him.
Our maturity was good, Stevens said. We’re going to take the best shot. We’re going to do what we do. It’s a long season. Let’s not try to change who we are.
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