Pierre Brooks drilled a go-ahead jumper with 19 seconds remaining as Butler downed Providence 75-72 on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis. It looked like the Bulldogs (16-8, 7-6 Big East) were going to cruise to victory when they found themselves up 40-29 with 17:20 to play after Brooks converted a layup. But the Friars (15-9, 6-7) slowly chipped away, doing their most damage with a 13-2 run that included eight points from Corey Floyd Jr. to move in front at 58-55 with 9:01 remaining. Devin Carter later completed a three-point play to ignite an 8-2 Providence spurt that extended the Friars’ advantage to seven, 71-64, with 4:01 to go. DJ Davis answered with a pair of foul shots and Jalen Thomas canned a jumper as Butler pulled within 71-68. Carter made a free throw to push the visitors’ edge to four with 2:16 remaining, but the Bulldogs scored the final seven points of the contest to escape with the win. Jahmyl Telfort prefaced Brooks’ go-ahead shot with a free throw and a jumper, and Brooks iced the victory with a pair of foul shots with 1.7 seconds left. Davis paced Butler with 20 points and eight boards, while Brooks finished with 12 points and Telfort tallied 11 points and eight assists. Floyd netted a career-high 20 points for Providence. Carter supplied 18 as the Friars’ only other scorer in double figures. The Bulldogs shot 51.9 percent from the field and 36.8 percent (7 of 19) from beyond the arc, while Providence made 26 of 62 shots, including 10 of 26 (38.5 percent) from deep. Telfort and Posh Alexander each had four points during a 13-3 Butler run that provided the Bulldogs with a 17-8 advantage with 11:45 remaining in the first half. Providence pulled within two on two occasions, the last coming when Carter’s layup made it 27-25 with 3:02 left in the period. However, Davis sank a pair of free throws and drained a 3-pointer and Alexander added a layup as Butler scored the final seven points of the half to take a 34-25 edge into the break. –Field Level Media
