NEW YORK — Pierre Brooks II scored 25 points and ninth-seeded Butler earned a wire-to-wire 75-69 victory over eighth-seeded Providence in the opening round of the Big East tournament on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs (14-18) snapped a four-game losing streak and advanced to a matchup with top-seeded St. John’s in the first quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon.
Brooks helped the Bulldogs advance past the opening round of the conference tourney for the first time since 2022 by producing his ninth 20-point game this season. The senior made 11 of 18 shots and helped the Bulldogs fend off Providence’s comeback bids on numerous occasions.
Jahmyl Telfort added 16 on 7-of-12 shooting as Butler shot 48.4 percent and scored 40 points in the paint.
Bensley Joseph scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half but it was not enough as Providence (12-20) ended coach Kim English’s second season with six straight losses. The Friars finished with a losing record for the first time since 2011-12 and reached 20 losses for the first time since 1984-85.
Oswin Erhunmwunse collected 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Ryan Mela added 14 as Providence shot 37.7 percent and misfired on 27 of 35 3-point tries. Jayden Pierre and Corey Floyd Jr. were a combined 4 of 22 from the field.
Butler opened its first eight-point lead on a 3 by Kolby King with 12:26 remaining in the first half and held a 30-20 lead with 5:59 left. Providence cut the lead to 34-31 on a basket by Mela with 2:31 left before Patrick McCaffery’s 3 put Butler ahead 39-31 by halftime.
Joseph’s difficult layup moved Providence within 41-35 in the second half but McCaffery converted a putback for a 45-35 lead. A jumper in the lane by Joseph moved Providence within 51-45 with 11:38 left but Butler answered, taking a 58-45 lead on Moore’s four-point play with 9:50 to go.
The Friars were within 66-59 on a tip-in by Erhunmwunse with 4:21 left but Butler took a 69-57 lead on Brooks’ three-point play on the next possession and made enough plays to secure the win.
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media
