Butler shows off firepower in victory over Penn State
Butler advances to the third-place game of the ESPN Events Invitational with an 88-78 win over Penn State.
Three Bulldogs finished in double figures. Pierre Brooks II led the way with a career-high 26 points. Jahmyl Telfort scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half. D.J. Davis added 14 points and seven rebounds.
Butler awaits the winner of the VCU/Boise State game. The thirdplace game will be 4 p.m., Sunday.
Pierre Brooks has career day, Jahmyl Telfort finishes strong: Brooks came to Butler looking to make a bigger contribution after two quiet seasons at Michigan State. In his sixth game with the Bulldogs, Brooks set a new career high with 26 points.
Brooks did most of his damage from deep, shooting 5-for-9 from 3-point range. He scored 12 points in the second half, on four made 3s.
“I was so happy for Pierre,” Butler coach Thad Matta said. “He called me late night last when I was in my room and said, ‘Hey, I didn’t play well, and I owe you that.’ I thought he did a heck of a job.”
Brooks and Jahmyl Telfort combined for 28 second-half points. Telfort and Brooks scored 18 straight points in the second half, stretching Butler’s lead to 11 with 5:14 left in the game.
Telfort struggled in the first half, scoring just two points on 1-for-7 shooting. In the second half, the physical forward focused on getting to the basket and using his strength to finish inside. His driving layup put Butler up 14 with 2:33 left in the game.
“Jamyl was really really good today. Second half he finished,” Matta said. “He fell back early on his on his 3s (in the first half). I talked to him at halftime about staying over his knees and it was good to see him (play well). Those two positions are vitally important for us.”
Andre Screen, Landon Moore contribute off bench: Center Andre Screen continues to play valuable minutes off the bench for Butler. Screen is an efficient scorer in close and he’s developing into one of Butler’s best rebounders. He scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds in just six first-half minutes. Screen pulled down four more rebounds in five second-half minutes. He finished with nine points and a gamehigh eight rebounds in just 11 minutes on the court.
Screen has been filling in well for starting center Jalen Thomas. Against the Nittany Lions, sophomore Landon Moore shouldered the majority of the minutes at point guard with starter Posh Alexander battling foul trouble.
Running the offense from the point guard position has been a gradual process for Moore. He’s struggled with pressure defense, looking shaky with his dribble and indecisive with his passes at times. Moore committed two turnovers in the first half, but he tightened up his handle in the second half, dishing out two assists with no turnovers after halftime. Moore used the Nittany Lions’ tight defense to slither past his defender with a driving layup late.
“I thought our bench today was absolutely fantastic,” Matta said. “Those guys came in and gave us a great lift. We went the last 11 minutes without Posh. Landon Moore came in and ran the team, he did an unbelievable job.
“These tournaments are hard. The second game is always a tough one. Proud of our guys for coming back and getting the W.”