Jayden Taylor scored a career-high 24 points and made six 3-pointers off the bench as Butler throttled Georgetown 80-51 on Sunday in Washington, D.C.
The Bulldogs (9-6, 1-3 Big East) ended a three-game losing streak after beginning conference play 0-3 for the first time since starting the 2013-14 season at 0-5.
Meanwhile, the Hoyas (5-10, 0-4) have lost five straight games and their last 24 regular-season conference matchups.
Manny Bates scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Bulldogs, while Eric Hunter Jr. collected 11 points, a team-high eight boards, five assists and two steals.
Entering Sunday’s game shooting just 16.7 percent (7-for-42) from 3-point range in conference play, Butler emphatically shook their long-distance shooting slump against the Hoyas. The Bulldogs scored their first 12 points in the paint, which opened up the perimeter to help them shoot 12 of 26 (46.2 percent) from deep.
Taylor’s trey 4:07 into the second half capped a 13-3 Butler run that blew the game open at 51-33. The Bulldogs outscored the Hoyas 42-21 in the second half after leading 38-30 at the break.
Akok Akok led Georgetown with 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, while Brandon Murray contributed 11 points. Bryson Mozone had 10 points and five rebounds, and Qudus Wahab added nine points and five rebounds.
Georgetown’s Primo Spears, who entered the game averaging 17 points per game, managed just two points. Wayne Bristol Jr. shot 1-for-7 from the field and finished with two points in his second start of the season after guard Jay Heath was ruled out before the game with a broken left index finger he suffered in Georgetown’s loss at DePaul on Thursday.
Taylor scored the first eight points of a 10-0 Butler run that put the Bulldogs ahead 29-21 with 4:25 remaining in the first half.
Georgetown pulled to within 31-27 on a pair of layups by Bradley Ezewiro and Murray, only for Butler to respond with a 7-0 run capped by its fifth 3-pointer of the half. The Bulldogs committed just five turnovers and shot 50 percent from the field in the opening period.
–Field Level Media
