Pierre Brooks collected 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists as Butler held on for an 84-72 Big East win over DePaul on Saturday in Chicago.
Jahmyl Telfort and Finley Bizjack scored 17 and 16 points, respectively, as the Bulldogs (13-14, 6-10 Big East) won a true road game for only the second time this year. Telfort also grabbed six rebounds and handed out six assists for the Bulldogs, who closed the game on a 14-3 run.
DePaul (11-17, 2-15) lost its fifth consecutive game despite a strong effort by Layden Blocker. He scored a career-high 25 points, including going 4 of 6 on 3-point attempts, and added five assists and four boards.
Isaiah Rivera recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds, while CJ Gunn added 12 points for DePaul, which has lost 11 straight games to Butler.
Blocker hit a 3-pointer with 18:41 left that cut Butler’s lead to 43-39, and DePaul was within 47-44 at the 16:47 mark after Gunn drilled a trey.
Landon Moore eventually got the lead back to 10, driving for a score that put the Bulldogs up 58-48 with 12:25 remaining.
DePaul battled back, and a wide-open dunk by Blocker on a fastbreak brought the Blue Demons within 60-59 with 7:28 to go.
Coming out of a timeout, Bizjack delivered a much-needed 3-pointer, extending Butler’s lead to 63-59 with 7:12 to go.
But DePaul soon took its first lead of the night at 64-63 on Rivera’s bucket with 5:56 left.
Telfort delivered a big play with 3:51 left, hitting a shot off the glass as he was fouled and completing the three-point play as Butler pushed its lead to 73-69.
Troy D’Amico provided some early energy for DePaul, burying a 3-pointer and throwing down a dunk as the Blue Demons tied the game at 7-7 with 17:22 left.
A 20-5 run swayed the momentum in Butler’s favor. It started with a 3-pointer from Bizjack and was fueled in part by Brooks, who knocked down two 3-pointers, the second giving the Bulldogs a 27-12 advantage with 11:36 to play.
–Field Level Media
